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“SPHERE AND ASH.” 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


NOTABLE RECORDS BY PRIMITIVE CLUBS. 
CONTESTS FOR SUPREMACY IN THE SIXTIES. 
REMARKABLE TOURS OF THE EARLY ORGANIZATIONS. 
GAMES CONSPICUOUS FOR EXTRA INNINGS. 

COMPLETE REVIEW OF ALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. 


ILLUSTRATED. 

9 ^° * // 

By J. C. MORSE 

\v 

ENLARGED AND REPUBLISHED FROM THE BOSTON HERALD. 


.APR 23 1888 V 

/v ^ 


BOSTON: 

J. F. SPOFFORD & CO., HERALD BUILDING. 
1888. 






CrVz^ 
' . jvjgtr 


Copyrighted, 1888, 

By J. F. SPOFFORD & CO. 


Press of Alfred Madge <£• Son, Boston. 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL 


It can be sai l, without fear of contradiction, that base ball is the 
sport of sports in the United States; no other sport furnishing as 
much or as satisfactory amusement. The game was never so popular 
and never gained so much ground as last season, — a fact largely due to 
the excellent influences that surrounded it, and to the ability of the 
gentlemen who had it in charge. The struggles for the supremacy 
in the league national championship were closely watched by thou¬ 
sands from the first day of the season to the end, and by admirers not 
only in this country, but also abroad. Wherever the American 
chanced to be, he eagerly scanned papers and mails from home which 
might give him information on the positions of the clubs. So great 
has been and is the hold of the game in the land, that American 
students in Berlin have celebrated the Fourth of July by a contest of 
base ball, while matches in Honolulu in the Sandwich Islands have 
been of frequent occurrence. The game has found its way into 
Canada, and has seriously threatened to replace lacrosse, the national 
sport of that country. A Canadian club, the Torontos, now holds the 
championship of the International Association, and was one of the 
strongest in the country at the close of the season. The sport thrives, 
too, in Cuba, and there are excellent grounds, good clubs, and prom¬ 
ising players in Havana. The development, too, of the sport in 
sections of this country to which it has been comparatively new, has 
been simply marvellous. Leagues have been formed in the Southern, 
Western, and Northwestern States, and beside these organizations, 
there is scarcely a State that has not a league. Even in far-off San 
Francisco excitement over base ball is intense, and some of the most 
desirable players in the country hail from that city. The fever has 



4 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


also struck New Mexico, and the clubs that have introduced the game 
there attest the great interest manifested in that region. Instead 
of the game being played out, as many would have it, it has actually 
increased its hold in the estimation of the public, and in some places 
has supplanted every rival for popular favor. In Philadelphia the 
fever is so great that the city easily supports two clubs at an admis¬ 
sion price of but twenty-five cents. New York really has had two 
clubs, in the New Yorks and Metropolitans, while the grounds of the 
Brooklyns are readily accessible to residents of the metropolis. On 
the days of great matches, it is no exaggeration to say that people 
come from great distances to witness contests. Nor is the interest in 
the game confined to those who are present at the matches. There 
are thousands who are unable to find the time to attend, and there 
are thousands who cannot afford the expenditure, even though it be 
slight. Yet these must be counted among the most ardent lovers of 
the game, and to them, on a holiday, there could be no greater treat 
than that of witnessing a base ball match. To the business or profes¬ 
sional man nothing affords more pleasure than a ball game. Here he 
can throw off all cares and troubles. He forgets to think about them 
in the relaxation he enjoys in the excitement of a close contest, and 
he goes to his home feeling all the better for the few hours spent in 
the air. It is a medicine to him and a tonic, and it is with a zest that 
he afterward partakes of his evening meal. The game, too, is purely 
and thoroughly American, entirely characteristic of our race and 
times. It had an English origin, ’t is true, but the child is as different 
from the parent as anything that could be imagined. Cricket could 
never have become an American game. It is too slow, too leisurely, 
for the American. It could never become national, for how many 
could spare the time, were they players, to participate in a contest 
that will take as much as a day, granting that the contest would be 
finished in this space of time? And even if players could find time, 
how about the spectators? No, the American would not sacrifice a 
morning for a cricket game. He is quick and active, nervous and 
energetic, and he wants his sport to answer the requirements of his 
temperament. Base ball has answered his purpose admirably. 

Playing with the ball is a pastime that goes far back into the ages. 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


5 


The Greeks practised it as tending to give grace and elasticity to the 
figure, and they erected a statue to Aristonicus for his proficiency in 
it. Horace says that the effeminate Maecenas amused himself during 
his journey by playing ball. In the Greek gymnasia and in the 
Roman baths there were special apartments for ball playing, called 
sphaeristerii, where certain rules and gradations of exercise were to 
be observed, according to the state of health of the player. The 



Harry Wright, the Veteran Manager. 


balls used were of various materials; the most common being of 
leather, inflated; others were stuffed with feathers. The ancient doc¬ 
tors would prescribe a course of ball tossing as the modern M. D. 
would prescribe pills. In the sixteenth century the game of ball was 
popular in the courts of Europe, especially in Italy and France, and 
was highly esteemed for its influence in promoting agility and 
strength, and as a means of health and enjoyment. 



6 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


“Rounders,” from which base ball derived its origin, is a very 
simple game, so simple that girls could play it. It was played with a 
ball and bats, or sticks something in the form of a policeman’s 
truncheon. An English work on outdoor sports describes the game 
as follows: 

A hole is first made, about a foot across and half a foot deep. Four 
other stations are marked with pegs stuck into the ground, topped 
with a piece of paper, so as to be readily seen. Sides are then 
chosen, one of which goes in. There may be five or more players on 
each side. Suppose that there are five. One player on the side that 
is out stands in the middle of the five-sided space, and pitches the 
ball toward the middle of the hole. He is called the feeder. The 
batsman hits it off, if he can; in which case he drops the stick and 
runs to the nearest station, thence to the third, and all round if the 
hit has been a far one. The other side are scouting and trying to 
put him out either by hitting the batsman as he is running, or by 
sending the ball into the hole, which is called “grounding.” The 
player at the hole may decline to strike the ball, but if he hits at it 
and misses twice running, he is out. When a player makes the round 
of the stations back to the hole, his side counts one toward the game. 
When all the players are out, either by being hit or the ball being 
grounded, the other side get their innings. When there are only two 
players left, a chance is given of prolonging the innings by one of 
them getting three balls from the feeder; and if he can give a hit such 
as to enable him to run the whole round, all his side come in again, 
and the counting is resumed. The feeder is generally the best player 
on his side, much depending on his skill and art. The scouts should 
seldom aim at the runners from a distance, but throw the ball up to 
the feeder or some one near, who will try to hit or to ground, as 
seems the most advisable. A caught ball also puts the striker out. 

Up to 1857 the game of base ball was played under various rules, 
and was merely a schoolboy’s game, as is the game of rounders to-day. 
In 1845 it first became a club game. The Olympic Club of Philadel¬ 
phia was formed in 1833, but it played nothing but “ town ball,” one 
of the numerous varieties of the game. In New England a game 
called the “ New England ” game, in contrast with the “ New York ” 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


7 


game, was played. The New England game was played with a small 
and light ball, thrown overhand to the bat, while in the New York 
game a large and elastic ball was used. Before the game recognized 
as the game of to-day came into vogue, the rules allowed a man to be 
adjudged as out if he were struck by a thrown ball. This schoolboy 
rule was soon abolished, and it was required that a runner must be 
touched to be declared out. This was the first departure from the 
primitive rules. At this period, too, the game was won by the club 
making the largest number of “ aces ” or runs in a given time. Then 
was substituted the idea of innings for runs, and the club scoring the 
largest number of runs in nine innings was pronounced the winner in 
a match. The rudimentary character of the game in its infancy can, 
moreover, be seen from the fact that under the first code of rules, the 
pitcher could deliver the ball as wildly and widely as he chose, for 
there was no penalty for bad pitching. The batsman, on the other 
hand, could offer at the ball when he felt so disposed. The following 
was 


THE FIRST CODE OF RULES PRINTED. 

Section 1. The bases shall be from “home ” to second base, 42 
paces; from first to third base, 42 paces, equidistant. 

Sect. 2. The game to consist of 21 counts or aces, but at the con¬ 
clusion an equal number of hands must he played. 

Sect. 3. The ball must be pitched and not thrown for the bat. 

Sect. 4. A ball knocked outside the range of the first or third base 
is foul. 

Sect. 5. Three balls being struck at and missed, and the last one 
caught, is a hand out; if not caught, is considered fair, and the striker 
bound to run. 

Sect. 6. A ball being struck or tipped, and caught either flying or 
on the first bound, is a hand out. 

Sect. 7. A player, running the bases, shall be out, if the ball is in 
the hands of an adversary on the base, as the runner is touched by it 
before he makes his base ; it being understood, however, that in no 
instance is a ball to be thrown at him. 

Sect. 8. A player running, who shall prevent an adversary from 


8 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


catching or getting the ball before making his base, is a hand 
out. 

Sect. 9. If two hands are already out, a player running home at 
the time a ball is struck cannot make an ace if the striker is caught 
out. 

Sect. 10. Three hands out, all out. 

Sect. 11. Players must take their strike in regular turn. 

Sect. 12. No ace or base can be made on a foul strike. 

Sect. 13. A runner cannot be put out in making one base when a 
balk is made by the pitcher. , 

Sect. 14. But one base allowed when the ball bounds out of the 
field when struck. 

The pioneer club to play under these rules was the Knickerbocker 
Club of New York, organized in September, 1845. Next came the 
Gothams in 1850, and then followed such familiar names to old timers 
as the Eckfords of Greenpoint, and Unions of Morrisiana in 1855. On 
June 19,1846, the first match game ever played took place at Hoboken. 
It consisted of four innings, the rule being that the club which first 
made 21 runs should be awarded the game. The first game in Phila¬ 
delphia occurred June 11,1860, between the Equity and Winona clubs, 
and the first game on the Pacific slope took place in February of the 
same year. The first regularly organized club in this State was the 
Olympic Club of Boston, established in 1854, and for a year was the 
only one in the field. 

In the summer of 1855, the first match game was played with the 
Elm Trees. In 1856 the. Green Mountain Club was formed, and 
several exciting games w T ere played between the club and the Olym¬ 
pics on the Common. In 1857 the Trimountains organized, and were 
the first to play under the flag of the National Association of Ball 
Players, formed in New York in May, 1857. 

At the meeting of the Massachusetts Association of Base Ball 
Players, April 7,1860, the name was changed to that of “ The New 
England Association of Base Ball Players.” The rules adopted at 
the meeting in Dedham, May 13, 1858, were amended at the meeting 
referred to. Under these rules the ball was to weigh not less than 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


9 


two nor more than two and three fourths ounces, nor measure less 
than six and one half nor more than eight and one half inches in 
circumference. It was composed of woollen yarn and strips of Indian- 
rubber wound tightly and covered with buck or calf skin. The bat was 
round, not more than two and one half inches in diameter, and could 
be of any length to suit the striker. There was no diamond marked out 
for an infield. The infield was a square, each side being sixty feet 



Robert Ferguson, Veteran Manager, Captain, and Umpire. 


long. The thrower, as the pitcher was called, stood in the centre of 
the square, facing the batsman, who stood in a space four feet in 
diameter, equidistant from the first and fourth corners of the square. 
The players on the outside were stationed as follows: One at each 
base, a catcher, one or two to assist the latter, and several fielders ac¬ 
cording to the number of players, from ten to fourteen, that partici¬ 
pated in a match. The bases were wrnoden stakes projecting from the 





HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


10 

ground four inches. The pitcher had to throw the ball, but could not 
pitch or toss it. The batsman was out if the third strike aimed at and 
missed by him was caught; or if he ticked the ball and it was caught; if 
he was caught out on a fly ball. As early as this date, the referees had 
the power, after warning a batsman, to call strikes on good balls if he re¬ 
fused to offer at them. If the player, while running and between bases, 
was hit by a ball thrown by one of the opposing side, he was out. In 
match games, seventy tallies constituted the game, and one out dis¬ 
posed of the side. There were three referees, one from each club and 
one from a neutral club. A peculiar rule was that which compelled 
the catcher to remain on his feet in all cases when catching the ball. 
Another was that when two players occupied a base, the one was 
entitled to it who arrived last. From these rules it can be seen 
that the game of that date resembles the present game much less 
than it did the game of rounders. At the meeting in Dedham, 
May 13, 1858, ten clubs were represented, the call having been 
issued by the presidents of six of the senior clubs. The first code 
which led to the adoption of the above was framed by the Olympic 
Club. The officers for 1860 were as follows: President, E. Nelson, 
Excelsior Club, Upton; Vice-President, M. P. Berry, Warren Club, 
Eoxbury; Secretary, C. H. Bingham, Bay State Club, Boston; Treas¬ 
urer, A. D. Nutting, Haverhill. Clubs from Ashland, South Dedham, 
East Douglas, Mansfield, Boston, Charlestown, Westboro, Upton, 
East Cambridge, North Brookfield, Sharon, Waltham, Walpole Cen¬ 
tre, Weymouth, Haverhill, South Walpole, North Weymouth, Marl¬ 
boro, Medway, Bolton, Eoxbury, Eandolph, Natick, Holliston, and 
Milford constituted the members of the association. The fee for 
admission was $1. The Boston clubs represented were the Olympics, 
Bay States, and Pythians. 

The New England game quickly passed out of date, and was sup¬ 
planted by the New York game, as it was called. The first conven¬ 
tion of base ball players in that State was held in New York city in 
May, 1857, and here rules for the season were adopted. In 1858 
another convention was held, and here the National Association of 
Base Ball Players sprung into existence. The first annual meeting 
was held in Cooper Institute, March 9, 1859. The New York game 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


1L 


marks the beginning of modern base ball. The diamond supplanted 
the square; canvas bases supplanted stakes; a pitched ball took the 
place of a thrown ball; nine innings, and not a certain number of 
runs, constituted a game; three men, and not one man, put the side 
out; nine players constituted a side; the base runner could not be 
put out on a thrown ball. All this is gleaned from a copy of the rules 



A. G. Spalding, President op the Chicago Base Ball Club. 

adopted in New York, March 14, 1860. At this time, however, a 
catch of a fair bound or of a foul bound disposed of the batsman. 
Otherwise, as to-day, the base runner could not run three feet out of 
the line of base; he could not score from third after two men were 
out if the batter had not reached first base safely; in case of rain, at 
least five innings constituted a game, and the distances between bases 
were ninety feet. 




12 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


The following were the officers of the National Association in 1860: 
President, Dr. Jones, Excelsior Club, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Vice-Presi¬ 
dents, Thomas Dakin, Putnam Club, Brooklyn, N. Shrever, Excelsior 
Club, Brooklyn; Recording Secretary, J. R. Portley, Manhattan 
Club, New York; Corresponding Secretary, J. E. Jackson, Putnam 
Club, Brooklyn; Treasurer, E. H. Brown, Metropotitan^Club, New 
York. The association then numbered sixty clubs, of which twenty- 
three belonged to New York city, and sixteen to Brooklyn. Boston, 
Albany, Detroit, Baltimore, Newark, Newburg, Jersey City, Pough¬ 
keepsie, Washington, New Haven, and Troy were also represented 
The first series of games for what may be called a championship 
took place in the years 1857-59. At that time the Elysian Fields at 
Hoboken were the great centre of ball playing, and here the Knicker¬ 
bocker, Eagle, Gotham and Empire clubs showed their superiority. 
The Atlantics of Brooklyn soon became worthy rivals, though it 
took many exciting and hard-fought battles before their title to the 
supremacy was assured. Their success led to the arranging of a 
series of three games between picked teams of the New York and 
Brooklyn clubs in 1858, known as the u Fashion course ” games. 
New York won two games out of the three, after a most successful 
series of games, by the close scores of 22-18, and 29-18, while Brooklyn 
won, 29-8. The New York nine in the first game consisted of 
DeBost, c.; VanCott, p.; Wadsworth, Pinckney, Bixby, basemen; 
Gelston, ss.; Hoyt, Benson, and Harry Wright in the field. 
Brooklyn played Leggett, c ; M. O’Brien, p.; Price, Holder, 
Masten, basemen; Pidgeon, ss.; P. O’Brien, Greene, Burr, fielders 
Players were changed in each game. In I860 there was a note¬ 
worthy series arranged between the Excelsior and Atlantic clubs, 
the former being determined to win from the latter, who, though not 
holding any official championship, were regarded as the crack club. 
The clubs met for the first time at the foot of Court Street, South 
Brooklyn, in the summer of 1860, and the Excelsiors, who had won 
every game they had played, won a signal victory, winning by a score 
of 23-4. The second game, at Bedford, was won by the Atlantics 
by the close figures of 15-14. The decisive game took place on the 
ground of the Putnam Club, and was declared a draw, the Excelsiors 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


13 


refusing to play the game out, owing to the insulting actions of the 
partisan crowd, which was highly favorable to the Atlantics. The 
score stood 8-6 in favor of the Excelsiors in five innings. . The 
Excelsiors played Leggett, c.; Creighton, p.; RuLSselt," Holder, J. 
Whiting, basemen; Reynolds, ss.; Hanly^Folhemus, Brainard, 
fielders. Atlantic — Pearce, c.; M. QHmen, p.; Price, Oliver, 
Smith, basemen; J. J. Oliver, McMahon, Hamilton, fielders. The 
clubs never met again. In this year the Excelsiors made a brilliant 
trip, playing in New York State ^Philadelphia, and Baltimore, greatly 
popularizing the game. The great rivalry excited by this series 
w'ould have been continued in other directions, and the game would 
have spread much faster and wider and been far more popular, had 
it not been for the outbreak of the Rebellion, which caused a great lull 
in the sport, and for several years there was very little done of 
prominence. 

At Hoboken, Oct. 21,1861, representative nines of New York and 
Brooklyn played at Hoboken before some 15,000 people. The New 
York side, on which Harry Wright played third base, was composed of 
the crack players of the Knickerbocker, Eagle, Gotham, Empire, and 
Mutual clubs, while on the Brooklyn side was the strongest material 
that the Excelsiors, Atlantics, and Eckfords could present. For the 
latter team Pearce caught and Creighton pitched, Reade playing right 
field and Beach shortstop. It was a close game up to the ninth inning, 
when, with the score standing 10-6 in favor of Brooklyn, the Brook- 
lyns made no less than eight runs. Pearce has now commenced his 
fourth decade as a ball tosser; his experience dating clear back to 1856. 
He played with the Atlantics as early as 1856. At this period the 
Athletics of Philadelphia showed themselves to be very strong, and 
gave promise of great things in the future. 


BASE BALL LEGISLATION. 

Amendments to the rules now began to have an important effect 
upon the game and to make it more modern. The rule of running 
bases did not allow the runner to leave his base after a fly until the 
ball had been in the pitcher’s hands, and had been once pitched to 


14 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


the bat. This rule prevailed until 1859, when the present rule was 
adopted. Efforts were made in 1860 at two conventions to abolish 
the “out” on a fair fly, but it was twice defeated, the second time 
51-42. Ely games were allowed, however, by mutual consent. In 
1861 an attempt was made, similar to the one in 1868, to give the 
game to the club having the most runs in an uncompleted inning, 
thus not compelling the leading club to go to the bat in the last half 
of a ninth inning. At the convention of 1863, the committee on rules 
again reported in favor of the fly game, and was again voted down. 
An important move was made in regard to the pitcher, compelling him 
to stand perfectly still while delivering the ball, without taking a step 
forward, in a space twelve feet by three feet. Now, for the first time, 
called balls were introduced, to punish the pitcher for bad balls deliv¬ 
ered, just as the striker had been previously punished for not striking 
at good balls. Base runners, before allowed to go around on near 
bases in a circuit, had to touch them. In the convention of 1864 the 
catch of a fair ball on the bound no longer put a man out, as the fly 
game was adopted by a vote of 32-19. In 1865 the rule dividing 
the professionals and amateurs was adopted by a nearly unanimous 
vote of the representatives of almost two hundred clubs. In 1867 
the latter was prevented from taking a forward or backward step in 
striking at the ball upon the penalty of “ no strike.” This was a very 
confusing feature of the play of the previous season, it being 
attempted to help base running. The pitcher now stood in a space 
six feet square. The batter could take steps forward, provided he had 
one foot back of the line of his position when he struck at the ball. 
The rule relating to compensation described as professionals all who 
were paid for their services either by “money, place, or emolument.” 
Mr. A. P. Gorman, now Senator Gorman, was elected president of the 
National Association of Base Ball Players at the meeting held in 
Clinton Hall, New York, Dec. 12, 1866, when there were over two 
hundred clubs represented. 

Meanwhile the game had made its way West as far back as 1857. 
Chicago had a crack team, the Excelsiors, which went to Rockford, 
Ill., in 1864, and won no end of glory by defeating the famous Forest 
Citys of that place. The Atlantics were another Chicago club that 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


15 


played on the north side, but did not have the prestige of the Excel¬ 
siors. Base^ball got a "great boom in this region from the tourna¬ 
ments held there. The Excelsiors won the one held in Bloomington, 
Ill., in 1866, and the one in Rockford in 1867. 

To return to the East. In 1862 the Eckfords of Brooklyn won the 
supremacy from the Atlantics, and held it clear through the season of 
1863, in which year they did not lose a single game, — a feat since dupli- 



Joseth Start, the Veteran First Baseman. 


cated only by Harry Wright’s Cincinnati Reds, and they were a pro¬ 
fessional club. The Atlantics regained their lost honors, however, in 
1864, and held them for three years. Their chief competitors were 
the Athletics of Philadelphia and the Mutuals of New York. The 
Atlantics did not lose a game in 1864 and 1865, — a feat that has never 
been equalled. The Unions of Morrisiana won two games out of 
three from the Atlantics in the latter part of 1867, and thereby won 



16 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


the nominal championship, which, during the next two seasons, shifted 
between the leading clubs of New York and Brooklyn. The Ath¬ 
letics of Philadelphia were generally regarded as the champions of 
1868, and the Cincinnatis in 1869. The New York Clipper offered a 
series of prizes, to be contested for by the leading clubs in the country 
in 1868, a gold ball for the championship, and gold badges to the 
players excelling in batting in each position. The Athletics received 
the ball, while McBride, pitcher, Radcliff, catcher, Fisler, first base, 
Reach, second base, Sensenderfer, centre field, of the Athletics; 
Waterman, third base, Hatfield, left field, Johnson, right field, of the 
Cincinnatis; and George Wright, shortstop, of the Unions of Mor- 
risiana, received the medals. 

The Athletics of Philadelphia gained renown by going through the 
season of 1866 with but two defeats. Of course, clubs played fewer 
games than nowadays. Their only defeats in the season referred to 
were at the hands of the Atlantics of Brooklyn, and the Unions of 
Morrisiana, N. Y. The feeling between the Brooklyn and Philadel¬ 
phia boys ran very high, in fact much higher than at the present time 
between their successors. They were to meet in Philadelphia, Oct. 
1,1866, and it was estimated that the crowd, outside and inside of the 
grounds, that gathered to see the game, numbered 40,000, the largest 
crowd ever known to have gathered to see a base ball contest. The 
crowd was so great that after one inning had been played it was 
found impossible to continue the game^ and it was postponed until 
Oct. 22. To prevent a repetition of the former scene, an admission 
fee of $1 was charged, the largest fee up to that time ever asked for 
a ball game, yet 2,000 paid for the privilege of going inside the gates, 
while several thousand stood outside of the grounds. The Athletics 
rolled up 31 runs to 12 for their opponents in seven innings, when 
the umpire called the game on account of darkness. A dispute about 
gate money prevented the clubs from playing any more that season. 

Baltimore became a great centre of base ball in the very early days 
of the game, and the Excelsiors were in the field in 1857, the Waverlys 
in 1857, and the Baltimores in 1859. Another club disputed with the 
latter for the title; and in a game played for the name, the first-formed 
club won, 27-18. As early as 1861, Baltimore met a Washington nine 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


17 


on the diamond, the Pastimes of Jlaltimore defeating the Nationals of 
Washington. 

Massachusetts had become a hot-bed of base ball, but the feeling 
had not grown^so intense and so partisan as in New York, and there¬ 
fore not so professional. There was no professional base ball at all in the 
State until a professional association was started. This was not so 
elsewhere toward the close of the sixties. A good example of the 



A. J. Reach, President of the Philadelphia Base Ball Club. 


base ball of the olden day is the game at Medway, Oct. 11, 1859, 
when the Excelsiors of Upton and Unions of Medway played under 
the old Massachusetts rules. The game lasted two days, occupy¬ 
ing eleven hours. Eighty innings were played, there being but 
one out to an inning, and the final score was 100-56 in favor of the 
Excelsiors. It was thought wonderful because sixteen consecutive 
innings were played without a run on the second day. The Trimoun- 


18 


HISTORY OF BA BALL. 


tains, the crack club of its day, was oi# nized in 1858. It played but 
one match game that year, defeating the Portlands, Sept. 8, 47-42. 
The At waters of Westfield were also in the field this season, with 
Reuben Noble as one of the players. In 1859 the Trimountains beat 
the Portlands two games, and were beaten by the Bovvdoins, a new 
club of Boston, 32-26. The famous Lowells of Boston, named after 
John A. Lowell, were organized as a junior club, March 18,1861. 
Their only match game that year was with the Medfords, whom they 
beat 17-10. Among the players were “ Poxy” Wilder, catcher, and 
Jimmy Lovett, shortstop. Games in those days were mostly scrub 
games, played between members of the same club or by such players 
as were found on the Common, where the games were played. The 
youngsters had the ground in the early afternoon, and the young men 
afterward. The catcher stood near the Beacon Street mall. The 
contests were watched by large and interested crowds. Mr. Lowell 
saw at once that in order to have a successful club there must be 
plenty of practice. The team was first formed of English High and 
Latin Schoolboys. In 1862 the Lowells again succumbed to the Bow- 
doins, 23-14. In this year the Excelsiors of Brooklyn visited Boston, 
defeated the Bowdoins, 41-15, and the Trimountain-Lowell nine,con¬ 
solidated for the occasion, 39-13. Creighton, Brainard, and Ferguson 
played with the visitors. 

The Lowells gained a signal victory in 1863 in their first match with 
the Triinountains, winning 37-1. The famous silver-ball series was 
inaugurated in 1864. On July 9 of this year, the Lowells beat the 
Harvard College nine, 55-25. The Lowells made their first trip this 
season, and in Brooklyn were defeated, July 19, by the Resolutes, 
33-14; July 20, by the Atlantics, 45-17; July 21, by the Excelsiors, 
39-31. This was considered as a very good showing for the New- 
Englanders. Start played first base for the Atlantics, and did the 
best batting at the series. He made seven runs with but one out. 
In the fall the Atlantics of Brooklyn visited Boston, defeated the 
Lowells, Sept. 25, 30-10; Sept. 26, the Trimountains, 107-16 ; 
Sept. 27, the Harvards, 58-22. Tn 1866 the Beacons were organized 
as a junior club, and though defeated by the Lowell second nine, 
71-46, their showing was highly praised and a bright future prophe- 


HISTORY OF RASE BALL. 


19 


si(‘d. Sixty-six delegates met this year in response to a call to form a 
junior association. Mr. Lowell played catcher, shortstop, and in the 
held for the Lowell nine in 1865. In the silver-ball series that year the 
Trimountains beat the Osceolas, 33-18; the Lowells beat the Tri- 
mountains, 33-18, and the Ilampsliires of Northampton, 84-10. 
Tremendons excitement was caused in 1865 by the games between the 
Lowells and the Harvards. The games between these clubs always 
attracted immense crowds, were well contested and very exciting. 
Harvard won by two games out of three in this year, 28-17 and 73-37, 
while Lowell won, 40-37. Lovett did not pitch in the decisive game 
won by Harvard, which accounts for the large score. In 1866, Lowell 
defeated Harvard, 37-27, King Philips, 75-17, and the Granites, 47- 
11. In 1867 the excitement was.greater than ever, and over 25,000 
people witnessed the three games with Harvard. Lowell won the 
first at Poston, 37-28; lost the second at Jarvis Field, 26-32; and lost 
the third at Medford, 28-39. Mr. E. Hicks Hayhurst was summoned 
from Philadelphia to umpire these games. During the Harvard vaca¬ 
tion, a quarrel about the disposal of the silver cup won by Harvard led 
to its return to the Lowells. In the fall, the Tri mountains beat the 
Lowells, losing the first game, 16-20, but winning the next two, 40-35 
and 42-22. The silver-ball series then came to an end, on account of 
its being melted down and destroyed. There were 15 games for its 
possession. Lowell won 8, lost 6; Harvard won 4, lost 3; Trimoun¬ 
tains won 3, lost 2. 


TOURS OF FAMOUS CLUBS. 

The Harvard University nine was famous at a very early date as 
one of the strongest nines in the country. The games were played 
in Cambridge on the Delta, where Memorial Hall now stands, and in 
those days the faculty did not frown on the game or prevent the team 
from playing such nines as it chose. As early as 1866 the Harvards 
played the Atlantics, Eurekas, Excelsiors, and Actives, in New York, 
and were beaten, 37-15, 42-39, 46-28, 54-15, a plucky showing, con¬ 
sidering that Catcher Flagg’s hands were in bad condition. On the 
Fourth of July the Charter Oak nine, of Hartford, which bad thrice 


20 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


beaten the Yales, was vanquished, 16-14. The Beacons were beaten, 
77-11 and 56-20. Williams nine won the championship from Har¬ 
vard, 39-37. Flagg, Abercrombie, and Hunnewell were regarded as 
the great men of the team. The latter made 12 runs in one game. 
Tho season of 1867 was conspicuous for the winning of the silver 
ball by Harvard. In June the Harvards made the very creditable 
showing of 10 against 22 for the Athletics of Philadelphia. In 1868, 
Harvard defeated Lowell, 39-26; were beaten in practice games by 
the Lowells, 26-24, 23-20, and won from the Trimountains, 23-11. At 
Worcester, Harvard beat Yale, 25-17, the lamented Archie Bush 
catching to Hunnewell’s pitching. 

In 1869, Harvard made a most successful tour in July. They de¬ 
feated the Athletics at Philadelphia, 35-21; lost to the Eckfords at 
Brooklyn, 17-5; defeated the Keystones at Philadelphia, 24-18; de¬ 
feated the Nationals at Albany, 58-17; were beaten by the Unions of 
Lansingburg, 22-10. In this year, Cincinnati beat Harvard, 30-11; 
Yale was beaten, 41-24; Williams, 45-8; and Dartmouth, 48-0. The 
Fairmounts, one of the crack teams of the State, were beaten, 34-16 
and 40-14, and the Lowells, 41-22, 35-19, 39-16, 21-4, 32-14, 36-24. 
This was evidently no year for Lowell. 

It was in 1870, however, that Harvard was agog over its nine. The 
season began with a victory over Lowell, 28-5. In May a game was 
played on the Union grounds, which the Athletics of Philadelphia 
won, 20-8. The Cincinnatis then defeated Harvard, 46-15. The 
club then went on a tour for pleasure and profit, visiting all places of 
interest on their route. The tour deserves to be ranked with those of 
the Nationals and Cincinnatis before them. The nine won 20 games 
and lost 6. They opened by beating Yale, 24-22; Rose Hill, 17-2; 
Haymakers, 25-13; Uticas, 31-23; Forest Citys of Cleveland, 15-7; 
White Stockings of Chicago, 11-6; Cream Citys of Milwaukee, 41-13; 
Indianapolis, 45-9; Nationals of Washington, 39-13; Marylands of 
Baltimore, 44-11; Pastimes of Baltimore, 30-11. They were beaten 
14-9 by the Forest Citys of Cleveland, 18-7 by the Olympics of 
Washington, 22-15 by the Mutuals, 27-9 by the Athletics, 13-4 by the 
Atlantics, and 20-17 by the Cincinnati Red Stockings. In the latter 
game Harvard had the game well t in hand, when^Cincinnati made 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


21 


eight runs in the last inning, blanked Harvard, and won. Harvard 
beat Niagara at Lockport, N. Y., 62-4 in five innings, making 36 runs 
in the third inning. In the Harvard nine were Bush, c.; Goodwin, 
p.; Perrin, White, Reynolds, basemen; Austin, ss.; Thorpe, Wells, 
Eustis, fielders. In 1871, Harvard beat Tufts, 32-0; Brown, 42-10, 
34-15; Yale, 22-19; Haymakers of Troy, a strong professional club, 



George Wright, the Famous Shortstop of his Day. 

15-8; Lowell, 14-9; was beaten by Boston, 13-4; Athletics of Phila 
delphia, 14-6; Olympic of Washington, 17-5; Chicago, 12-2; Eckford 
of Williamsburg, 15-9. This well shows what the calibre and mettle 
of the college teams were in those days. 

The season of 1867 was a remarkable trip of the National Club of 
Washington, which was the most extensive ever taken by a club up 
to that time. The Nationals were composed of government clerks. 



22 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


They left Washington, July 11, 1867, and won their first game at 
Columbus, O., defeating the Capitol Club, 90-10. At Cincinnati 
they defeated Harry Wright’s Cincinnati Reds, 53-10, Harry himself 
pitching. The Nationals played in this game, Hertlirong, c., and 
Williams, p. George Wright played second base. They next 
whipped the Buckeyes, rivals of the Cincinnatis, in Cincinnati, 
88-12. At Louisville, National won, 82-21; at Indianapolis the score 
was 106-21. McVey played second base for the defeated team. At 
St. Louis, with the thermometer 104 in the shade, they made the 
Union Club perspire, the score being 113-26. The Empires of St. 
Louis were beaten, 53-26. The eventful games of the trip were at 
Chicago and Rockford. Previous to the arrival of the Nationals, the 
Excelsiors of Chicago had beaten the Forest Citys of Rockford, 45-41 
in Chicago, and 28-25 in Rockford. The work of the Nationals was 
therefore awaited with intense interest. The result made Chicagoans 
groan. The Forest Citys gave the Nationals the only defeat of their 
tour, winning 29-23. This made the Excelsiors confident of victory. 
They were beaten 49-4, this result being a death blow to them. 
They never got over jt. The famous Al Spalding pitched for the 
Forest Citys. Barnes played shortstop and Addy second base. In 
the game with the Nationals, which lasted three hours and a half, 
George Wright made eight runs out of 49 and nine hits out of 37. 
These were the days of lively hitting, with plenty of home runs. The 
players of the Nationals and their occupations were as follows: W. F. 
Williams, p., law student; F. P. Norton, catcher, treasury clerk; 

G. A. E. Fletcher, first base, clerk in 3d auditor’s office; N. C. 
McLean, clerk, 3d auditor’s office; E. A. Parker, 1. f., clerk, internal 
revenue department; E. G. Smith, ss., clerk, 4th auditor’s office; 
S. L. Studley, r. f., clerk in treasury department; N. W. Berthrong, 
c. f., clerk of comptroller of currency; G. Wright, second base, 
clerk, 238 Pennsylvania Avenue; A. V. Robinson, clerk; George 

H. Fox, third base, graduate (1867) Georgetown College. 

Up to 1868 the laws of the game forbade the employment of paid 
players in clubs, but so great had become the rivalry between clubs 
that professionalism worked its way into base ball, and the rule 
became a dead letter, At the convention of 1868, the district classes 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


23 


were made, and in 1809 the first regular professional nine, the famous 
Cincinnati lied Stockings, were organized, and signalized their 
appearance by not losing a game during the whole campaign, playing 
clubs between Maine and California. They won fifty-six games, tied 
one, and scored 2,389 runs to 574. The personnel of the team was as 
follows: D. Allison, c.; Brainard, p.; Gould, first base; Sweazy, 



Adrian C. Anson, Cattain of the Chicago Base Ball Club. 

second base; Waterman, third base; George Wright, ss.; Leonard, 
1. f.; Harry Wright, c. f.; McVey, r. f. First defeating the promi¬ 
nent Western clubs, they defeated the Forest Citys of Cleveland, 25-6; 
the Haymakers of Troy, one of the first professional clubs, 38-31; the 
Harvard College nine, 30-11; Mutuals of New York, 4-2, a phe¬ 
nomenal game for this period; Atlantics of Brooklyn 32-10; 


24 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


Eckfords of Brooklyn, 24-5; Irvingtons, 20-4; Athletics of Philadel¬ 
phia, 27-18; Nationals of Washington, 24-8; Forest Citys of 
Rockford, 34-13. These were the strongest clubs of the country, 
and it will be noticed that they held their strong opponents 
down remarkably well for the days of large scores. The club 
went to St. Louis and then to San Francisco, and upon their return, 
defeated the Athletics again, 17-12, and the Mutuals, 17-8. In 
this season the Cincinnatis defeated the Forest Citys of Rockford, 
15-14, making three runs in the ninth inning, and defeating their 
opponents. Barnes played shortstop, Addy caught, Hastings played 
second base, and Spalding pitched for the Forest Citys. In 1870, the 
Atlantics of Brooklyn were the first to shatter the prestige of the 
Cincinnati Reds, defeating them, June 14, on the Capitoline grounds, 
Brooklyn, 8-7; losing at Cincinnati, Sept. 2, 14-3, and winning 
the decisive game, Oct. 26, in Philadelphia, 11-7. During the 
summer of ’70 the Harvard College nine visited Cincinnati, and all 
but scored a glorious victory. They led the professionals 17-11 in 
seven innings, the Cincinnatis having their strongest nine in the 
field. In the ninth inning Pitcher Goodwin was hit by a hot liner and 
injured. This resulted in the scoring of eight runs by the profes¬ 
sionals, who won the game, 20-17. The Cincinnatis made seven 
runs after two men were out. The Harvard nine consisted of Bush, 
c.; Goodwin, p.; Perrin, lb.; White, 2b.; Reynolds, 3b.; Austin,ss.; 
Thorp, 1. f.; Wells, c. f.; Eustis, r. f. The success of the Cincin¬ 
natis placed professional base ball on a sure footing. Among the 
clubs in the field in 1870 were the Cincinnatis, Athletics, Atlantics, 
with such well-known players as Ferguson, Zettlein, Start, Pike, 
Pearce, Chapman, and George Hall; Chicagos, with Wood, Meyerle, 
Tracey, Cuthbert; Forest Citys of Rockford ; Forest Citys of Cleve¬ 
land, with James White, c.; Pratt, p.; Sutton, 3 b., and Allison, c. f.; 
the Haymakers, with McGeary, c.; McMullen, p.; Fisher, lb., and 
York, c. f.; the Mutuals, with Charles Mills, c>; E. Mills, p.; Nelson, 
3b.; Hatfield, ss.; Eggler, c. f.; Marylands, with Matthews, p., and 
Carey, ss.; Nationals, with Hicks, c.; Glenn, 1. f.; Hollingshead,2b.;. 
Olympics, with Davy Force, ss., and Berthrong, r. f.; Unions, with 
Pirtell ? c.; Pabor, p.; Higham,2b.; Holdsworth, 3b., and Gedney, 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


25 


1. f. Of these men, James White, Nelson, Force, and Matthews are 
on the diamond to-day, after an experience of seventeen years. The 
Athletics, Cincinnatis, Chicagos, Clevelands, Haymakers, Mutuals, 
and Marylands were paid regular salaries. The others were co-opera¬ 
tive nines, who played for gate money. The next year saw in the 
arena the well-known veterans. Burdock and Clinton. Beside those 
veterans mentioned among the players, Ferguson, Pearce, Cuthbert, 
Malone, Beach, A1 Spalding, George Wright, Harry Wright, and 
York are connected with base ball to-day, either as umpires or man¬ 
agers, or in a business way. 


THE PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS. 

On March 17, 1871, the first convention of delegates from represent¬ 
ative professional clubs was held at Collier’s Saloon, corner of Broad¬ 
way and Thirteenth Street, and a series of best three in five games 
was arranged. The contesting nines were the Athletic of Philadel¬ 
phia, Chicago, Boston, Mutual of New York, Olympic of Washington, 
Haymaker of Troy, Kekionig of Fort Wayne, Ind., Cleveland, and 
Rockford. The championship was won by the Athletics, who won 
22 games and lost 7; 22 victories and 10 defeats for the Bostons. 
Two victories of the Rockfords over the Athletics were adjudged 
forfeited games, for the reason that a Rockford player was not entitled 
to play; yet a game won by the Olympics from the Bostons was 
adjudged legal, though the same point was raised. The Athletics 
were composed of Malone, c.; McBride, p ; Foster, Reach, Meyerle, 
basemen; Radcliff, ss.; Cuthbert, Sensenderfer, Heubell, r.f.; 
Bechtel and Tom Pratt, substitutes. The Bostons won 3 games out 
of 4 from the champions. The Boston nine consisted of McVey, 
c.; Spalding, p.; Gould, Barnes, Shafer, basemen; George Wright, 
ss.; Cone, Harry Wright, Birdsall, fielders; Jackson and Burrows, 
substitutes. 

In 1872, eleven clubs entered the lists, they being Boston, Balti¬ 
more, Mutual, Athletic, Troy, Atlantic, Cleveland, Mansfield (Ct.), 
Eckford of Brooklyn, Olympic and National of Washington. The 
series now consisted of five games, Boston won with McVey, c.; 


26 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


Spalding, p.; Gould, Barnes, Shafer, basemen; George Wright, 
ss.; Leonard, H. Wright, Rogers, fielders; Birdsall, substitute. 
The Bostons won 39 games and lost but 8. The Bostons won easily 
in this campaign, as indeed they did in every season up to the forming 
of the National League in 1876, a result due to able management, en¬ 
tire harmony and unanimity, and the fact that the club was not sur¬ 
rounded with any bad influences. The club was organized at the 
Parker House, Boston, Jan. 20,1871, and Mr. Ivers W. Adams was 
largely instrumental in its formation. Harry and George Wright were 
both present at the meeting, and the result was the formation of a 
team of players that was almost invincible from the day that it took 
the field until its four strongest players left to win the first league 
championship for the Chicago Base Ball Club. The club played its 
first game against a picked nine April 6,1871, winning by a score of 
41-10, the nine opposed being the strongest amateur nine that could 
be secured. The two most exciting games played by the Bostons in 
1871 and 1872 were with the Chicagos,Sept. 5,1871, when the Bostons 
made all of their six runs in the fifth inning, Charles Gould making 
the memorable home run over the left field fence when the bases were 
full, and winning the game for his side; score, 6-3. The Chicagos 
made one run in each of the first three innings, and neither side scored 
in the last four innings. The present president of the league um¬ 
pired the game. The opening game of the season in 1872, May 11, 
was with the Mutuals of New York, who led the Bostons 2-1 up to the 
ninth inning. In that inning the Bostons made three runs, and won 
4 runs to 2. In August of this year, the Bostons took a Michigan and 
Canadian trip, defeating the Ypsilantis, 40-3; Empires of Detroit 
35-2; Athletics of London, 52-3; Maple Leafs at Guelph, 29-7; Daunt¬ 
less at Toronto, 68-0; Independents at Dundas, 52-4; Ottawa, 64-1; 
Montreals, 63-3; Pastimes at Ogdensburg, N. Y., 66-1. Base ball 
having been so well established in Canada at that time, it would seem 
that Canada ought to have had a professional league long ago. Per¬ 
haps the decisive defeats were discouraging. 

One of the most important amendments in 1872 was that doing away 
with the prohibition of delivering the ball to the bat by an underhand 
throw, which had long been a dead letter. Creighton, of the Excel¬ 
siors of Brooklyn, introduced this kind of delivery. 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


27 


The Bostons again won the championship in 1873, with a record of 
43 victories, 10 defeats, to 36 victories and 17 defeats for the Philadel- 
phias. The contesting clubs were the Bostons, Philadelphias, Balti- 
mores, Mutuals, Athletics, Atlantics, Washingtons, Besolutes, and 
Mary lands, and they finished the season in that order. Each club 
had to play nine games for a full series, and four had to be played 
wiih every club before they could be counted at the end of the season. 



John M. Ward, the Brainy New York Shortstop. 


The champion nine comprised White, c.; Spalding, p.; Manning, 
Burns, Shafer, basemen; George Wright, ss.; Leonard, Harry 
Wright, Sweazy, fielders; Birdsall, substitute. O’Rourke and Addy 
also played with the nine during the season. The season was one 
of surprises in the many sharply plaj^ed and extra-inning contests. 
On May 14 it took 13 innings for the Philadelphias to beat the Ath¬ 
letics, 5-4. June 3 the Bostons beat the Mutuals at Brooklyn, 0-5, in 









HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


2S 


12 innings. John J. Burdock umpired the game, and the Bostons 
won by superior fielding. July 21 the Baltimores beat the Athletics, 
12-11, in a 13-inning game. But the best and longest professional 
game up to that time was played at Brooklyn, Sept. 12, when the 
Philadelphias beat the Athletics, 3-2, 14 innings. Zettlein pitched for 
Philadelphia, and Brett for the Atlantics. In the latter nine were: 
Pearce, ss.; Burdock, 2b.; Ferguson, 3b.; Dehlman, lb ; llemsen, 
c. f.; and Pabor, 1. f. On the Philadelphias: Mack, 1 b.; Wood, 2 b.; 
Devlin, 3b.; Fulmer, ss.; Cuthbert, 1. f.; Treacy, c. f; Bechtel, r. f., 
and Malone, c. Then, as to-day, games which require more than the 
usual number of nine innings to decide their result were regarded as 
the most remarkable and interesting, and in the days of large scores 
many have thought such contests as almost impossible. One of the first 
extra-inning games, June 30,1854, between the Gothams and Knick¬ 
erbockers in New York, required 16 innings to decide it. It was 
played near what is now 106th Street and Second Avenue. In those 
days, however, the game was won by the nine making 21 runs or 
over in an even innings, and this total was often made in one or two 
innings. The same clubs played a 12-inning game the same year, the 
score standing 12 to 12. Eleven years later, in 1865, the Gothams 
defeated the Enterprise Club of Brooklyn, 19-18, in 13 innings. 

In 1874, the Bostons again won the pennant, their success being due 
to team work and harmony, over clubs at which changes in personnel 
were frequent and discipline inferior. They won 52 games, lost 18, 
and played one tie game. The Mutuals were second, with 42 victories 
23 defeats. The other clubs participating were the Athletics, Phila¬ 
delphias, Chicagos, Atlantics, Hartfords, and Baltimores. The series 
of games was increased to 10, with five in a quota necessary to count. 
The Hartfords made their first appearance and did well, but lacked 
in organization. The Boston players were as follows: White, c.; 
Spalding, p.; O’Rourke, Barnes, Shafer, basemen; George Wright, ss ; 
Leonard, Harry Wright, McVey, outfielders; Hall and Beals, substi¬ 
tutes. In this season N. E. Young, William McLean, C. J. Sweazy, 
Charles Daniels, A. G. Hodges, were among the umpires of the season. 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


29 


BASE BALL SEEN IN ENGLAND. 

The season of 1874 was memorable for the trip of the Boston and 
Athletic clubs to England. The clubs left Philadelphia on the steam¬ 
ship Ohio. July 10 of that year. The Athletic contingent numbered 
38 persons, including the following players: McBride, Clapp, Anson, 
McGeary, Sutton, Battin, Gedney, McMullen, Murnane, Fisler, and 



Roger Connor, one of tue Hard Hitters. 

Sensenderfer. A1 Reach was unable to go on account of business 
engagements. Boston sent Harry Wright, George Wright, Spalding, 
Barnes, Shafer, McVey, Leonard, O’Rourke, Hall, Beals, Kent, and 
Sam Wright. Kent, first baseman of the Harvards, replaced James 
White. The tourists arrived in Liverpool July 27. Fourteen games 
of base ball were played at Liverpool, Manchester, London, Sheffield, 
and Dublin; the Bostons winning eight games and the Athletics six. 









30 


IlISTOliY OF BASE BALl. 


The Englishmen were not a little astonished at the wonderful celerity 
and dexterity displayed by the base-ballists in fielding The scores in 
most of the games were large, owing to the speedy grounds played 
upon. In cricket, the 18 Americans met with great success, de¬ 
feating the Marylebone, Prince’s, and Surrey clubs in London, the 
Sheffield Club, Manchester Club, and the All Ireland Club in Dublin. 
The Richmond game was drawn on account of rain. It was not 
exactly as if green cricket players had visited the old country, for 
Harry, George, aud Sam Wright were all first-class players, and the 
first two were excellent bowlers, while McBride showed up well as a 
bowler. George Wright bore the palm for the largest score in a 
match, rolling up 50 runs at Manchester. The trip was a financial 
failure, yet both clubs were successful enough in the games at home 
to show a balance in the treasury at the close of the season. Nothing 
occurred to mar the pleasure of the participants, and all spoke highly 
of their experience and their treatment while abroad. The ball 
tossers left the other side Aug. 27 on the steamship Abbotsford, and 
after a stormy voyage arrived in Philadelphia, Sept. 9. 

Thirteen clubs entered the lists in 1875 — Boston, Athletic, Hart¬ 
ford, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, Mutual, New Haven, Red 
Stockings of St. Louis, Washington, Centennial of Philadelphia, 
Atlantic and Western of Keokuk. The Westerns, Centennials, and 
New Havens did not live long. Ten games constituted a series, with 
six as a quota. At the close of the season, only seven clubs had 
played the quota. The Bostons won with greater ease than ever, 
and made a record unequalled in a championship season, with a 
record of 71 victories, 8 defeats. The Athletics were second, with 
53 victories, 20 defeats. The Bostons were made up of White, c.; 
Spalding, p.; McVey, Barnes, Shafer, basemen; Geoige Wright, ss.; 
Leonard, O’Rourke, Manning, fielders; Beals, Harry Wright, Heifert, 
substitutes. The most noteworthy contest on record up to that time 
was played June 19, at Chicago, when the Chicagos defeated the 
Mutuals, 1-0, in ten innings. This was the first time that club had 
failed to score in nine innings. 

The term “ Chicago,” for the blanking of a team, sprang from the 
game at Chicago, July 23, 1870, when the Mutuals of New York 


HISTORY OF BASE BALfw 


Si 


defeated the Chicagos, 9-0. Up to that time, games in which one 
side had failed to score had been few, and such teams as the 
Unions of Morrisiana, and Resolutes of Elizabeth had been u white¬ 
washed.” The first authenticated case was Nov. 8, 1860, when the 
Excelsiors of Brooklyn, with Creighton in the box, disposed of a 
nine from the St. George’s Cricket Club without allowing them a run. 
Jan. 5,1870, the Cincinnati Red Stockings administered to the Unions 
of Morrisiana the worst defeat that club ever received, the figures 
being 14-0. A month before, the Atlantics had beaten the Resolutes 
of Elizabeth, 19-0, and on Aug. 18, the Forest Citys of Cleveland 
defeated the Eckfords at Brooklyn, 13-0. The Bostons were “ Chi- 
cagoed” for the first time at Boston, June 14, 1872, 3-0, by the 
Athletics. 


FORMATION OF THE LEAGUE. 

In 1876 the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs 
was formed Feb. 2, at New York city. It was thought that the 
National Association had been unable to drive many evils out of 
the ranks, among them pool selling and gambling, and in answer to 
a circular dated Chicago, Jan. 23, 1876, signed by William A. Hurl- 
bert and Charles A. Towle, and sent to the Boston, Hartford, Ath¬ 
letic, and Mutual clubs, a representative meeting was held, at which 
these clubs were represented, as well as the Louisville, Cincinnati, 
and St. Louis clubs. M. G. Bulkeley, of Hartford, acted as chair¬ 
man, and Harry Wright, of Boston, as secretary. A new constitution 
was adopted. Special rules were made governing the engagement of 
players for the first time, and united contracts were provided for. 
Rigorous rules were adopted to prevent the “ revolving ” of players, 
and dishonesty and irregularity. The first president was M. G. 
Bulkeley, and N. E. Young was elected the secretary—a position he 
has ever since retained. The pitcher was required to deliver the 
ball with the arm swinging nearly perpendicular at the side of his 
body; but the rule failed of the desired effect. The idea was to com¬ 
pel the pitcher, in swinging his arm, to keep the hand below the line 
of his hip, and thus do away with the underhand throw. Nine bad 
balls gave a man his base. Fair fouls, where the ball going foul 


32 


HISTORY OF BASE BALE. 


before it reached third base was allowed as fair if it first struck the 
ground inside of the bases, were still in vogue. Of the players under 
engagement in the first year of the league, Force, Sutton, O’Rourke, 
White, Anson, Hines, Jones, Burdock, Snyder, Gerhardt, Matthews, 
and Battin are still on the diamond, and of them, Force, Sutton, 
White, Matthews, and Burdock date back to the formation of the 
first professional base ball association. This season was famous for 
the fact that the Boston nine — champions for five consecutive sea¬ 
sons— was deprived of four of its best players, — Barnes, McYey, 
Spalding, and White, — who joined the Chicagos, thereby causing 
great mourning in the camp of the Bostons. This transfer almost 
crippled the Bostons, and they came in a very bad fourth. The clubs 
that participated in the season were the Chicago, Hartford, St. Louis, 
Boston, Louisville, Mutual, Athletic, and Cincinnati clubs. The Chi¬ 
cagos won the championship, winning 52 games and losing 14, to 47 
won and 21 lost for the Hartfords. The Chicagos were made up of 
White, c.; Spalding, p.; McYey, Barnes, Anson, basemen; Peters, ss.; 
Glenn, Hines, Addy, fielders; Bielaski, Andrus, substitutes. The 
series this season consisted of ten games. 

At the close of the season the Athletic and Mutual clubs were 
expelled for not playing return games with every other league club. 
Among the prominent non-league clubs this year were the Buckeye 
of Columbus, O.; Fall River, Mass.; Rhode Island, Providence, Al¬ 
legheny, Pa.; St. Louis Reds, Stars of Syracuse, Indianapolis, Cricket 
of Binghamton, Active of Reading, Quickstep of Wilmington, Del. 

Ho department in the game of base ball has undergone so many 
changes since its origin as that of the pitcher. Transitions have 
been going on and improvements have been made year after year, 
and the experimental stage, even at this date, has not been passed. 
From the straight arm and strategic work of Asa Brainard, of the 
Cincinnati nine of ’69, A1 Spalding, of the Bostons, and Dick Mc¬ 
Bride, of the Athletics, the delivery became a square, underhanded 
throw, beautifully exemplified by Thomas H. Bond, of the Bostons. 
From about the year 1874, the delivery became more and more 
of a throw, the arm rising higher and higher, and the curve came 
into effect. How it originated has not been satisfactorily explained, 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


3:3 


there being conflicting claims in the amateur and professional ranks 
as to the credit of the discovery. By common consent, Arthur Cum¬ 
mings, who played in the Stars of Brooklyn, and afterward in the 
Mutuals of New \ork, was conceded the priority among professional 
pitchers. Cummings seems to have acquired the curve unconsciously, 


John O. Clarkson. 

The $10,000 Pitcher. 

and his delivery was considered very peculiar by the profession. He 
was regarded as a wonder as far back as 1869. He was pitching 
against a picked nine one day, and noticed the ball curving. He had 
no difficulty in striking the batsman out, and went home that night 
and tried to study out the phenomenon. 

The next day he invited some gentlemen friends out to see him 
work. They laughed at him, and when he tried to convince them 



34 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


that he could accomplish what he claimed, he failed, as no doubt in 
his anxiety he sent the ball too fast, and very little curve can be got 
out of a speedy-pitched ball. He was not discouraged, however, but 
went out with his catcher the next day and learned that the curve 
came from a certain twist he gave his wrist. He worked hard until 
he got a good control of the new move, and then astonished the base 
ball scientific world. Cummings was of slight build, his pitching was 
very graceful, and his curve was of the sailing kind, much like that 
of Carruthers. of the St. Louis Browns. 

Bobby Matthews, now of the Athletics, watched Cummings’s deliv¬ 
ery very carefully, and soon succeeded in acquiring the knack. A1 
Spalding, McBride, Pratt, and others were forced to retire when pitch¬ 
ing became obsolete and throwing was substituted. So were Bond and 
pitchers of less note compelled to withdraw when the high throwing 
came into vogue. The college pitchers also proved themselves very' 
skilful in the use of the curve at a very early date. Some claim that 
Mann, a Princeton pitcher, was the first to use it, while others claim 
that it was Avery, of Yale. The latter pitcher proved a veritable 
puzzler to the strong Harvard batsmen, who were utterly unable to 
fathom his delivery. Mann had very little control of the ball and 
little or no strategy, while Avery had excellent control over the ball, 
combined with good judgment. 

Fred Nichols, in 1875, McCormick of the Stars of Syracuse, the 
“ only ” Nolan of Columbus, and Bobby Matthews were the earliest 
to become proficient in curve pitching. 

From the days of Creighton, of the old Excelsior nine of 1860, who 
then had no peer in his position, up to the season of 1886, some very 
fine work had been accomplished in base ball pitching, notably so 
during 1885. But the large majority of professional pitchers still 
have a great deal to learn, even in these days of the advanced con¬ 
dition of the art, before they can reach the comparatively high 
mark Creighton did in the earlier history of base ball pitching. After 
Creighton came Martin, of the old Mutual nine, the feature of whose 
delivery was his marked skill as a strategist, his forte in pitching 
being his tossing in a slow ball, which was either missed by the 
puzzled batsman or sent up in the air so as to be easily caught. His 
most noteworthy successor, Spalding, of the champion Boston team 


HISTORY OF BASK BALL. 


35 


from 1871 to 1870, was the ablest strategic pitcher ever seen in the 
“box” from the (lays of Creighton up to the time of the general 
introduction of the swift curved line method of delivery. 

Long after ball tossers became satisfied that a ball could be curved, 



M. J. Kklly, the Great All-around Player. 
$10,000 “Kel 


the public were incredulous, and tests were publicly made in many 
places to satisfy them. The tests were much like the following: 

Two fences five feet high and seven feet long were placed in line 
with each other and some distance apart. A third and intermediate 
fence was placed at right angles to the other two fences and about 
midway between them. 





36 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


The pitcher and catcher stood at their respective fences. The sole 
object of the fences was to prevent the pitcher from giving his arm 
an outward swing, and to compel the catcher to receive the ball only 
after it had finished its curve. On the first two efforts the ball struck 
the intervening fence, but by this time the pitcher had learned his 
distances, and each time after that the ball made a clean curve. 

With a view of settling the vexed question as to whether a pitcher 
can or can not curve a ball, practical experiments were made at Cin¬ 
cinnati, O., on Saturday, Oct. 20, when the Bostons and Cincinuatis 
played a match. A line running parallel with the line from the home 
plate to the first base bag was taken as a straight line for the trial. 
On the Cincinnati grounds it runs north and south. The pitcher was 
placed at the south end of it, opposite the home plate. Midway 
between the home plate and the first base was placed a section of a 
paling fence, one end resting on the line, and the other pointing 
toward the infield, at the right angles. This, of course, formed a 
barrier to the ball started on the west side of the line, unless it should 
cross over to the east side. Another section of the fence was placed 
at right angles to the line opposite the first base, but being on the 
east side of the line. Then, at the south end, a board was placed on 
end on the line. Bond, the pitcher of the Bostons, was placed on the 
west side of the board and a little behind it, so that he was obliged to 
deliver the ball from the west side of the line. It was for him to 
demonstrate that the ball could be made to leave his hand on the west 
side of the line, cross over to the east side, so as to avoid the fence on 
the west side, and recross to the west side to avoid the other fence. 
Bond at first sent the ball against the edge of the board, but after 
several trials he was able to clear that, and, sending the ball fairly 
around the middle barrier, landed it on the same side it started from, 
at the other end of the line. The curve was not only visible to the 
eye, but it was shown beyond possibility of dispute. The demonstra¬ 
tion was greeted with shouts of applause. Mitchell, who is left- 
handed, was next called out. The barriers were reversed to suit his 
position, and he too succeeded in sending a curver that swung 
around the middle barrier and was caught fully a foot to the east of 
the final barrier f 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


37 


Nothing is more interesting than the study how the curve of the 
ball is produced, and many noted scientists have given their attention 
to the matter. 

In explaining the curve, Professor Stone, of Cincinnati Observa¬ 
tory, says: “The ball on leaving the hand of the pitcher is given a 
rapid rotary motion. The motion of the ball through the air causes a 
compression of the air in front, and leaves a vacuum behind, and as 
a result the ball, by its friction on the air, and by reason of the 1 twist 5 
which has been given it, rolls on the air immediately in front, and 



against which it presses. The ‘ curves ’ of the ball will, of course, 
take a direction in accordance with the ‘ twist ’ given it.” 

Professor Nelson, of Kenyon College, Ohio, says: “By looking at the 
diaphragm accompanying, it can be seen easily that the side of the ball 
marked ‘ A ’ moves more rapidly than that marked ‘ B’; therefore, the 
atmospheric resistance is greater at A, and deflects the ball, as shown 
in each case. There can be no difficulty in understanding this expla¬ 
nation. Any one can see that the side of the ball rotating toward the 
catcher moves faster than the side rotating from him. Of course, at 
that side there must be greater atmospheric resistance, and a conse¬ 
quent pressure from that side.” 

A student at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, in the St. Nicholas 
Magazine , gives a very full and interesting account of the curve; 


38 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


u The ball in its flight is retarded in its forward motion by the resist¬ 
ance in the air, which acts upon it precisely as though the ball were 
at rest, and the wind blowing against it at a rate equal to the motion 
of the ball. This exerts a pressure on the front of the ball and a 
friction on its sides, just as the water so manifestly does upon a 
vessel. If the ball is merely moving straight forward, the friction is 
the same on top and bottom, right and left, and the effect is only to 
slow the forward motion. But if the ball rotates as well as moves 
forward, we have a changed relation—a part of the ball’s surface is 
moving against the air with greater rapidity than the rest, as a dia- 
gragm will make clear. If the ball (or strictly its centre of gravity) 
is moving forward, (let us say at the rate of 100 feet per second,) 
and at the same time it is revolving so that points on its equator are 
travelling around its centre at an equal rate, it is evident that d is travel¬ 



ling backward as fast as the ball, as a whole, moves forward, while b is 
moving forward at its own rate plus that of the centre ; that is, twice 
as fast as c. As the friction or the air increases with the velocity of 
the moving object, it must be greatest at &, and least at cZ, being 
really zero at d under the conditions given. The b side of the ball is, 
therefore, retarded more than the centre or any other part, while the 
d side suffers no retardation. The result must be a curve toward the 
retarded side. When the rotation is on a nearly vertical axis, this 
effect will be at its maximum, and, according to the direction of its 
4 twist,’ the ball will curve to the right or to the left — 4 in ’ or 4 out.’ 

4 ‘ In this explanation the effect of gravity is assumed to be nearly 
a constant force, and not knowing the approximate velocity of 4 swift 
pitching,’ I do not attempt to consider whether the resistance of the 
air is proportional in this case to the first power, the square or the 
cube of the velocity.” 

One can readily see what a number of curves and what an amount 
of knowledge to control them the first-class pitcher has to possess, 



HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


39 


and that there is little room for wonder that so many first-class men 
in this position are demanded in a first-class club. I)r. Leuf, of 
Philadelphia, a base ball enthusiast, estimates that a pitcher delivers 
about 180 balls in v a game. He says: u Do not pitch when you have 
an off day; when you do not feel able to do yourself justice, don’t 
try to pitch hard. Let your average be considered less than your 
arm; but, to be in good form, a pitcher must practise about an hour 


T. J. Keefe, the Strategic League Pitcher. 



morning and afternoon, holidays included. All exercise should be 
taken in the sun. If the thermometer is below 60, vigorous pitching 
is risky, and the danger increases as the temperature falls. Never 
use liniments. They are no good. Dubbing, too, is bad. Hot water 
is good, as is also mild galvanism.” 

T. J. Keefe, of the New Yorks, has given the following methods of 
(lelivery: For a straight ball, hold the ball between the two fore- 











40 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


fingers and the thumb, and throw the ball straight from the shoulder 
with as much speed as possible, care being taken to retain command 
of the sphere. If the batsman stands forward well up to the plate, 
and moves up in the act of striking, the proper ball to deliver would 
be the in ball, i. e., a straight ball over the inside corner of the plate; 
if he stands well away from the plate, and has a habit of stepping 
back, the proper point to strive for will be the outside portion of the 
plate. 

For an out-curve, slow ball, hold the ball well pressed in the palm 
of the hand with the last three fingers. Deliver it with the same 
motion as is used with the straight ball over the outside corner of the 
plate, except that the wrist should be twisted so as to turn the hand 
upwards in delivering the ball. 

For an out-curve, swift ball, the ball should be held as in the deliv¬ 
ery of a straight ball. Hold it tightly between the forefinger and 
thumb, and the motion of letting it leave the hand should be done 
with such a quick snap of the wrist as to allow the hand to turn under 
as much as possible. 

For a swift drop ball, hold the hand directly under the ball, and in 
delivering let it slide off the ends of the fingers. The arm must be 
brought nearly straight up and down with the bod}' in this delivery, 
the ball being kept at the height of the knee, the lower the better, as 
more of a drop can be acquired to deceive the batter. 

In the in-shoot, throw the ball out from the shoulder, letting it pass 
off the ends of the first two fingers. It is a ball that should be 
worked on the inside corner of the plate, and that should have more 
speed to it than the out-curve. It should shoot in very quick just 
before reaching the plate. If the batter has a habit of stepping back 
from the plate, the ball should be worked from the outside corner. 

In the rise ball, hold the ball in the same manner as in the out- 
curve. When delivering, stoop over, throwing the hand well under 
and out from the body. Never pitch a ball to a right-handed batter 
above the waist, if possible, and for a left-handed batter, keep it high 
and over his shoulder. It is a ball that should have plenty of speed. 

About this time, too, was invented the catcher’s mask, which has 
become an indispensable article in modern base ball. In the earlier 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


41 


(lays of the game, catchers faced the pitchers pluckily and u ducked ” 
in cases of hot fouls, trusting to luck. Many was the black eye 
received, but serious injuries were few. With the introduction of 
curved pitching, the mask, heavy gloves, and a protection for the 
breast became a necessity, and thousands of these articles are yearly 
sold. The mask was invented by F. W. Thayer, captain of the Har¬ 
vard University Base Ball Club, in 1876-77, in order to enable James A. 



Frederick K. Stearns, one of the Leading Lovers of the Game. 

Tyng, now under engagement to the Philadelphia Base Ball Club, to 
face the swift pitchiug of the still well-remembered Harold C. Ernst. 
First experimenting on the idea of the fencing mask, he produced a 
cumbersome affair. Thayer took his invention to Boston, and showed 
it to professionals. They laughed at it at first, but soon saw its 
utility. Heretofore the only protection catchers had used was the 
catchers’ rubber held between their teeth. The mask was first worn 
in a game at Lynn, and created great amusement. The most recent 


42 


HISTORY OF RASE BALL. 


mask is much more convenient and improved, and interferes much 
less with the sight than that first introduced by Mr. Thayer. The 
mask was in general use in 1878. 

The first annual meeting of the league was held at Cleveland, O., 
Dec. 7, 1876. The Boston, Louisville, Chicago, Hartford, St. Louis, 
Cincinnati, and Athletic clubs were represented. Mr. W. A. Hurl- 
bert, of Chicago, was elected president, and N. E. Young, of Washing¬ 
ton, secretary. The visiting clubs in games were voted fifteen cents 
for each admission to a game. The home club was to pay the umpire 
$5 for his services. Players were required to pay $30 for their uni¬ 
form, and fifty cents each day for board during a tour. Fair fouls 
were abolished, and a special code of scoring rules went into effect 
for the first time. 

Only five clubs participated in the championship struggle of 1877, 
and Boston won, — 31 victories, 17 defeats, to 28 victories, 20 defeats 
for Louisville; Hartford, St. Louis, and Chicago finishing in that 
order. The Bostons consisted of Brown, c.; Bond, p.; White, 
George Wright, Morrill, basemen; Sutton, ss.; Leonard, O’Rourke, 
Shafer, fielders; Murnane, Will White, substitutes. While the 
season was a noteworthy one for the fine fielding work done, the 
evils of the pool box permeated base ball and affected the players, 
and as a result the Louisville Club expelled James A. Devlin, W. H. 
Craver, A. H. Nichols, and G. W. Hall for improper action. With 
clean play the Louisvilles would probably have won the championship, 
as Devlin was regarded as the finest of the league pitchers. 

In 1877 the International Association was organized at Pittsburg, 
Pa., by clubs from London, Ont., Guelph, Ont., Pittsburg, Lynn, Co¬ 
lumbus, Rochester, and Manchester. The Tecumseh nine won with 
Powers, c.; Goldsmith, p.; G. H. Bradley, Dinnin, Doescher, base- 
men; Somerville, ss.; Hornung, Magner, Knowdell, fielders; Reid, 
Spence, substitutes. 

The second annual meeting of the league was held at Cleveland, 
Dec. 5,1877, and Chicago, Boston, Louisville, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, 
Indianapolis, and Providence were represented. President Hurlbert 
and Secretary Young were both re-elected. E. Nolan was expelled 
for breach of chib rules, League clubs were prohibited from playing 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


43 


with non-league clubs, save with their own local clubs, and from 
playing non-league clubs on league grounds during the championship 
season. The Louisvilles did not take part in the season of 1878. The 
competing clubs, in the order of finishing, were Boston, Cincinnati, 
Providence, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee. Boston won 41 
games and lost 19, to 37 won, 23 lost, for Cincinnati. The clubs were 
very evenly matched, the Bostons again winning by superior team 
work and management. The winning club consisted of Snyder, c.; 
Bond, p.; Morrill, Burdock, Sutton, basemen; George Wright, ss.: 
Leonard, O’Rourke, Manning, fielders; Shafer, substitute. 

In the International Association, London, Pittsburg, Rochester, 
Manchester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton, Hornellsville, 
Springfield, Lowell, and Hartford competed. Buffalo won with the 
following nine: Galvin, p.; Dolan, c.; Libby, Fulmer, Allen, base- 
men; Force, ss.; Crowley, Eggler, McGunnigle, fielders; Mack and 
McSorley, substitutes. 

During this season the decisive action of the league upon the 
“ crooked ” cases of the previous season and honest play prevailed, 
making the game more popular than ever, and convincing people 
that it was in the hands of those who had the interests of the game at 
heart. 

The third annual meeting of the league was held at the Kennard 
House, Cleveland, Dec. 4,1878. Buffalo, Syracuse, Troy, and Cleve¬ 
land were elected to membership, Indianapolis resigning. In the 
playing rules the pitcher, when in the act of delivering the ball, was 
required to face the batsman, and nine called balls were introduced, 
instead of calling every third unfair ball as one ball. Providence won 
the championship, with 55 victories, 23 defeats, to 49 victories, 29 
defeats, for Boston, the other clubs finishing as follows: Chicago, 
Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Troy, Syracuse. The Providence 
team consisted of Brown and Gross, c.; Ward, p.; Start, 1 b.; McGeary 
and Farrell, 2b.; Hague, 3b.; George Wright, ss.; York, Hines, 
O’Rourke, fielders. 

The National Association, composed of Eastern professional clubs, 
was organized in 1879, in which season the Albanys won, the other 
contestants being Holyoke, Washington, Worcester, New Bedford, 


44 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


Springfield, Manchester, Rochester, and Utica. The Albany nine con¬ 
sisted of Keenan, c.; Critchley, p.; Tobin, Dunlap, Burns, basemen; 
Say, ss; Hanlon, Thomas, Rocap, fielders. 

The fourth annual meeting of the league was held at Pierce’s Hotel, 
Buffalo, Dec. 3, 1879. The Chicago, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, 
Providence, Cincinnati, and Troy clubs were represented. The Syra¬ 
cuse Club forfeited its membership. Messrs. Hurlbert and Young 
were re-elected president and secretary. Worcester was elected to 
membership shortly afterward. On Feb. 26, 1880, a special meeting 
of the league was held at Rochester, N. Y., when an address to the 
players was read by President Hurlbert and signed by the clubs, with 
a view to enforce discipline among the players. The clubs agreed not 
to negotiate with players before [the regular close of the season. 
Another special meeting was held at Niagara Falls, N. Y., May 25, 
1880, at which a complaint made by the Providence Club against the 
Troy Club was acted upon, and a pledge was made to add a forfeiture 
of membership for selling malt or spirituous liquors on league grounds, 
or in buildings owned or occupied by a league club. This was aimed 
at the Cincinnati Club, and led to that club’s forfeiting its mem¬ 
bership in the league at the close of the season. The only important 
changes made in the rules were those changing the number of called 
balls from nine to eight, and the making it necessary for the ball to be 
caught on the fly by the catcher to put the batsman out on strikes. 
The base runners were also to be declared out whenever they allowed 
a batted ball to strike them. 

For the first time in the history of the league, no club disbanded be¬ 
fore the season ended. The season was not a financial success, 
except with the Chicago Club, which took the lead from the start and 
held it easily, its record being 67 victories, 17 defeats, to 52 victories, 
32 defeats, for Providence, the other clubs finishing as follows: Cleve¬ 
land, Troy, AYorcester, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati. The champions 
included Flint, c.; Corcoran, Goldsmith, p.; Anson, Quest, William¬ 
son, basemen; Burns, ss.; Dalrymple, Gore, Kelly, fielders. 

In this year the Nationals won the National Association champion¬ 
ship with Trott, c.; Lynch, p.; Meyerle, Booth, Ellick, basemen; 
McClellan, ss.; Holly, Baker, and Derby, fielders. 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


45 


The fifth annual meeting of the league was held Dec. 8,1880, at the 
St. James Hotel, New York. The Chicago, Buffalo, Boston, Worces¬ 
ter, and Providence clubs were represented, and the Detroit Club was 
elected to membership. Applications from J. A. Devlin, George 
Hall, W. H. Craver, and A. II. Nichols for reinstatement were referred. 
Messrs. Hurlbert and Young were re-elected president and secretary. 


Hardy Richardson, the Superb General Player. 

The changes in the rules involved the placing of the pitcher’s posi¬ 
tion distant 50 feet from the home base, instead of 45 feet as before, 
and the narrowing the pitcher’s lines from six feet square to six feet by 
four. Club managers, too, were prohibited from going on the field 
during a match game. This was directed against Harry Wright. The 
number of players constituting a side in a match was also designated in 
the rules for the first time this year. Substitutes were also prohibited 







46 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


from taking a place in a nine unless to replace an injured player. 
The number of unfair balls allowed to be pitched was reduced from 
eight to seven. The base runner was to be declared out if after three 
strikes he failed to run to the base. This rule put a stop to the 
chance to make a double or triple play from the catcher’s failure to 
take the ball on the fly after the three strikes had been called, for the 
purpose of forcing runners off when all the bases were occupied when 
the third strike was called. The pitcher, too, was amenable to a fine 
for intentionally hitting the batsman with a pitched ball. 

In the season of 1881, Chicago did the best and most even work 
and won the championship, the record being 56 victories, 28 defeats, 
to 47 victories, 37 defeats, for Providence. Then followed the Buffalo, 
Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, and Worcester clubs. Worcester opened 
brilliantly, being second at the close of May. after winning eight out 
of the first nine games played. This club won but four games out of 
sixteen in July. The winners played the same team as in the previous 
season, with Nicoll as substitute. 

The sixth annual meeting of the league was held Dec. 7,1881, at the 
Tremont House, Chicago. Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Providence, 
Troy, Buffalo, and Worcester were represented. Special colors were 
decided upon for the league clubs as follows: Boston, red; Buffalo, 
gray; Chicago, white; Cleveland, navy blue; Detroit, old gold; Provi¬ 
dence, light blue; Troy,green; Worcester, brown. At a special meet¬ 
ing at the Russell House, Detroit, June 24,1882, Richard Higham, 
umpire, was expelled for “crooked” work. The league suffered a 
great loss this year in the death of its president and founder, William 
A. Hurlbert, at Chicago, April 10, 1882, at the age of forty-nine years. 

The league contest of 1882 was more closely contested than it had 
been for some seasons. Providence held the lead for the greater part 
of the season, but the Chicagos, with their well-known rallying power, 
pulled out ahead and won 55 victories, 29 defeats, to 52 victories, 31 
defeats, for Providence, the championship being won in the very last 
week of the season. Buffalo was a good third, then Boston, Detroit, 
Cleveland, and Troy, closely bunched, with Worcester sadly dis¬ 
tanced. The Chicago nine was the same as in preceding seasons. 

The seventh annual meeting of the league was held in Hotel Dor- 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


47 


ranee, Providence, R. I., Dec. 6, 1882, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, 
Cleveland, Detroit, Providence, Troy, and Worcester being repre¬ 
sented. The Troy and Worcester clubs resigned their membership, 
and were replaced by new New York and Philadelphia. A. G. Wills 
was elected president, and N. E. Young, secretary, A. H. Soden hav¬ 



ing acted as president during the remainder of the late president’s 
term. N. Doescher was expelled for dishonest conduct. An arbitra¬ 
tion committee was appointed. The disqualification of many players 
was cancelled, among them A1 McKinnon, P. Baker, C. W. Jones, and 
J. J. Gerhardt. A regular staff of umpires was appointed, consisting 
of Messrs. S. M. Decker, Frank Lane, W. E. Furlong, and A. F. Odlin 


48 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


The rules of 1883 did not allow the arm to be raised above the shoulder 
in delivery. The foul bound was abolished. The arbitration commit¬ 
tee met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, Feb. 17, 1883. It con¬ 
sisted of A. G. Mills, A. H. Soden, J. B. Day, of the league; Lewis 
Simmons, William Barnie, of the American Association; and Elias 
Matter, of the Northwestern League. This body drew up the tripar¬ 
tite agreement, afterward known as the national agreement. 

The season was the most exciting known in league history, Boston 
winning, with 62 victories, 35 defeats; Chicago second, with 59 vic¬ 
tories, 39 defeats; Providence third, 58 victories, 40 defeats; Cleve¬ 
land fourth, 55 victories, 41 defeats; Buffalo fifth, 52 victories, 45 
defeats; New York sixth, 46 victories, 50 defeats; Detroit next, 40 
victories, 58 defeats; while Philadelphia brought up the rear, with 
17 victories, 81 defeats. The winning team included Hines, Hackett, 
c.; Whitney, Buffinton, p.; Morrill,Burdock, Sutton, basemen; Wise, 
ss.; Ilornung, Smith, Radford, fielders. The number of games in a 
series —12 from 1877-82—was raised to 14 in 1883. 

The eighth annual meeting of the league was held in the Riggs 
House, Washington, Nov. 21, 1883, at which Boston, Buffalo, Cleve¬ 
land, Detroit, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Providence were 
represented. Messrs. Mills and Young were elected president and 
secretary. The system of reserving 12 men of a club was introduced 
at this convention. In this year, Dunlap, McCormick, and Glasscock, 
of the Clevelands, Fred Shaw, of the Detroits, Charles Sweeney, of 
the Providence Club, and others of less note, were expelled for contract 
jumping. The rules of this season allowed overhanded throwing. 
Called balls were reduced in number from seven to six. The rule 
requiring batsmen to be declared out for failure to run to a base after 
three strokes was qbolished. By superb work, the Providence Club 
won the championship; the Bostons, Buffalos, and New Yorks keep¬ 
ing close company for the first three months. Radbourn’s great work 
was of such a nature that in August the club won 17 out of 18 games, 
the only game lost being by 2 to 1,11 innings, on the polo grounds, 
New York. In the next month matters were clinched by their win¬ 
ning 15 games out of 19. Providence w T on 84 games, lost 28; Boston, 
73-38; Buffalos, 64-47; Chicagos and New Yorks, 62-50; then follow- 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


49 


ing Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Detroit. The champion nine con¬ 
sisted of Gilligan, Nava, c.; Radbourn, Sweeny, p.; Start, Farrell, 
Denny, basemen; Irwin, ss.; Carroll, Hines, Radford, fielders; Bas¬ 
sett, substitute. This season was one of the most notable seasons in 
the annals of the national game, including, as it did, more associa¬ 
tions, more clubs, and more remarkable contests than in any one 
preceding year. There were no fewer than 12 associations, including 
92 clubs. 

The Union Association opened its season April 17 with Altoona, 
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Keystone of Philadelphia, 
National of Washington, and St. Louis. The St. Louis won with 
Baker, Brennan, Dolan, c.; Sweeney, Boyle, Hodnett, Werden, p.; 
Baker, Brennan, Dolan, c.; Quinn, Dunlap, Gleason, basemen; 
Whitehead, ss.; Boyle, Rowe, Shafer, outfielders. The Cincinnatis 
were second, Baltimores and Bostons tied for third place, and the 
Nationals were fifth. These were the only clubs to finish. 

The ninth annual meeting of the league was held at the Fifth Ave¬ 
nue Hotel, New York, Nov. 19, 1884. Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, 
Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and Providence were 
represented. President A. G. Mills resigned, and N. E. Young was 
elected in his place. The St. Louis Club was admitted to member¬ 
ship, Cleveland afterward resigning its membership. April 18,1885, 
McCormick, Briody, and Glasscock, the contract breakers, were 
reinstated on payment of a fine of SI ,000, and Dunlap, Shafer, and 
Sweeney, reserve rule violation, on payment of $500. The campaign 
was a most exciting one, the Chicagos, who won the championship, 
and the New Yorks, who were second, far outstripping their rivals. 
At the end of the first three months, the Chicagos had won 53 games 
and lost 14, to 50 games won and 16 lost for New York. Both clubs 
continued in their even work to the end of the season, Chicago winning 
with 87 won, 25 lost, to 85 won, 27 lost, for New York. Philadelphia 
was third, then Providence, Boston, Detroit, Buffalo, and St. Louis. 
Sixteen games constituted the series in this year, as it had since and 
including 1881. The Chicagos included Flint, Kelly, c.; Clarkson, 
McCormick, p.; Anson, Pfeffer, Williamson, basemen; Burns, ss.; 
Dalrymple, Gore, Kelly, outfielders. 


50 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


The league’s tenth annual meeting was held at the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel, New York, Nov. 18,1885. The New York, Chicago, Philadel¬ 
phia, Buffalo, Boston, Detroit, Providence, and St. Louis clubs were 
represented. Mr. N. E. Young was re-elected president and secre¬ 
tary of the league. At a special meeting held at the same place, 
March 3, 1886, the Kansas City Club was elected to membership. 
The president was authorized to accept the resignation of the Provi¬ 
dence and Buffalo clubs when tendered. The number of games in a 
series was increased to 18. 

Chicago won the league championship for the sixth time in 1886, 
after another magnificent struggle, which well tested their rallying 
powers. Detroit was the strongest competitor, and these two clubs 
were side by side for almost the whole season. At the end of July, 
Chicago had won 50 games and lost 18, to 55 won and 14 lost for 
Detroit. In the very next month, Chicago won 17 games and lost 6, 
while Detroit won but 10 and lost 13. Thus Chicago assumed a lead 
that was maintained to the very end, the final figures being 90-34 for 
Chicago and 87-36 for Detroit. New York was third, Philadelphia 
fourth, then Boston, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Washington. 

The league’s eleventh annual meeting occurred at the Tremont 
House, Chicago, Nov. 17,1886. The Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Kan¬ 
sas City, New York, Philadalphia, St. Louis, and Washington clubs 
were represented. The Pittsburg Club was elected to membership. 
New rules relating to the pitching department: the size of the pitcher’s 
position was reduced from seven feet in length to five feet six inches, 
and he was required to keep one foot on the rear line of his position, 
and keep the ball in plain sight of the umpire. The coachers were 
compelled to take their stand at points near the first and third bases. 
The umpire was required to have two balls ready for use at all times. 
The distinction between high and low balls was abolished. A base 
was allowed when a batter was hit by a pitched ball. Base runners 
were deprived of the right of having substitutes run for them. The 
number of strikes was increased to four. The captain of the home 
nine was made the sole judge as to the fitness or the condition of the 
ground after rain had fallen, and not the umpire. Championship 
games were ordered to be commenced not later than two hours before 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


51 


sunset. The season of 1887 was the most successful ever known in 
the history of the game, but was finally won by the Detroits, who 
towered like giants over the clubs following, the Philadelphias and 
Chicagos. The Detroits really held the lead during the entire season. 
The Chicagos tied them just once. At the end of July the situation 
was: Detroit, 45 won, 26 lost; Chicagos, 42 won, 28 lost; Boston, 40 
won, 30 lost; New York, 41 won, 33 lost; Philadelphia, 37 won, 36 


Samuel L 


Thompson, the Heavy Hitting Right-Fielder. 



lost. Prom this point Chicago, New York, and Boston fell off in their 
work, while Philadelphia showed the best form of any league club, 
finishing second. At the close of the season Detroit had won 79 
games, lost 45; Philadelphia, 75-48; Chicago, 71-50; New York, 68- 
55; Boston, 61-60; Pittsburg, 55-69; Washington,46-76; and Indian¬ 
apolis, 37-89. The Bostons added greatly to the excitement to the 
campaign by the brilliant way they started out after the acquisition of 






52 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


Michael J. Kelly, of Chicago, for whose release the sum of $10,000 
was paid, the transaction being the most stupendous known in base 
ball history. Mr. Kelly’s salary was $4,000. In the first month 
Boston won 19 games out of 27, a showing equalled only by the 
Detroits. The latter won through the great four, Brouthers, Richard¬ 
son, Rowe, and White, who were secured from the Buffalo Club for a 
price about half of what the Boston Club would pay for the release of 
Hardy Richardson. 

Nov. 14,1887, the joint committee for the revision of the rules met 
at the Anderson House, Pittsburg, Pa. The committee consisted of 
Messrs. Spalding, Day, and Scandrett, for the league, and Phelps, 
Barnie, and Williams, for the American Association. They decided 
to change the number of strikes from four to three: that a base on 
balls should no longer count as a base hit, but as an error; that the 
base runner should not be called out if a batted ball hit him after it 
had passed a fielder; that the batter should be called out on a third 
strike when the ball hit his person or clothes; that the base runner 
should be allowed a base when the ball hit the umpire. 

The meeting of the league was held in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
New York, and was the longest and most interesting ever held. The 
Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Phila¬ 
delphia, and Washington clubs were represented. The meeting lasted 
three days, and the attendance of base ball players, umpires, re¬ 
porters, and others was unprecedentedly large. It was voted that no 
exhibition or championship league games be played on Sundays; that 
two players, whose names should appear in addition to those of the 
regular team on the score card, could be substituted for other players 
at the end of any completed inning, but that the retired players 
should not be allowed to participate afterwards in the game; that a 
substitute should be allowed in case of an injury to a player; that the 
umpires be paid such salaries as are agreed between the appointees 
and the secretary, subject to the approval of the directors of the 
league; that postponed and tied games can be played off on the 
grounds of either club by mutual consent. It was voted that visiting 
clubs should receive twenty-five per cent of the receipts, or a guar¬ 
antee of $150, and fifty per cent of the receipts on holidays. A com- 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


53 


mittee of the Brotherhood of League Players, consisting of Messrs. 
Ward, Hanlon, and Brouthers, was received, and the contract offered 
by the latter was substantially adopted. 

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 

The American Association was organized at Cincinnati, O., Nov. 
2,1S81, and the following clubs competed for the championship in the 



Charles W. Bennett, the Reliable and Plucky Catcher. 


first season: Alleghany of Pittsburg, Athle'ic of Philadelphia, Balti- 
timore, Cincinnati, Eclipse of Louisville, and St. Louis. The officers 
were: H. D. McKnight of the Alleghany Club, president; J. H. 
Pank of the Eclipse Club, vice-president; and J. A. Williams of 
Columbus, O., secretary and treasurer. The championship was 
easily won by Cincinnati, Athletic second, then Eclipse, Alleghany, 
St. Louis, and Baltimore. The record of the Cincinnati was 55 won 








54 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


and 25 lost. The champion team consisted of Snyder, c.; White, H. 
McCormick, p.; Luff and Stearns, 1 b.; McPhee, 2 b.; Carpenter, 3 b.; 
Fulmer, ss.; Sommer, Macullar, Wheeler, fielders; Kemmler and 
Powers, change catchers. 

At the annual meeting in December, 1882, President McKnight and 
Secretary Williams were re-elected. The opening season had been 
very successful, but the one following was much more so, owing, 
doubtless, to the national agreement, then first entered into by the 
three prominent associations. The competing clubs were: Athletics, 
St. Louis, Cincinnati, Metropolitan of New York, Eclipse, Columbus, 
Alleghany, and Baltimore. The Athletics won the championship with 
66 victories, 32 defeats, to 65 victories, 35 defeats, for St. Louis. The 
latter club did the best up-hill work during the campaign. The win¬ 
ning nine consisted of Rowen, O’Brien, c.; Matthews, Corey, p.; 
Stovey, Strieker, Bradley, basemen; Birchall, Blakiston, Crowley, 
Knight, fielders; Blakely, Jones, change pitchers. At the annual 
meeting of the association, Dec. 12,13, 1883, the number of clubs 
was increased from eight to twelve, the new additions being Brooklyn, 
Washington, Indianapolis, and Toledo. The season was extended to 
Oct. 15, and the number of games in a series was fixed at 10. Mr. 
H. D. McKnight was re-elected president, and Mr. Wheeler C. 
Wikoff, of Columbus, O., was elected secretary. The Metropolitans 
of New York secured the championship in 1884, winning 75 games 
and losing 32, to 69 victories and 39 defeats for Columbus. Louisville 
won 68 games, lost 40; Cincinnati won 68, lost 41; St. Louis won 67, 
lost 40; Baltimore won 63, lost 44; Athletics won 61, lost 46. It was 
a very interesting and closely contested campaign, the drawback 
being the too large number of clubs, the last clubs making a wretched 
showing. The Virginia Club replaced the Washington Club in 
August. The “ Mets,” as the Metropolitans were familiarly called, 
took the lead in the first weeks of the campaign, and held their advan¬ 
tage throughout. The struggle for places among the other clubs was 
the greatest ever known in any professional organization. The cham¬ 
pions consisted of Holbert, Reipschlager, c.; Keefe, Lynch, p.; Orr, 
Troy, Esterbrook, basemen; Nelson, ss.; Kennedy, Roseman, Brady, 
fielders.. 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


55 


The fourth annual meeting of the association Avas held at the Fifth 
Avenue Hotel, New York, Dec. 10, 11, 1884. The Alleghany, Ath¬ 
letic, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, Met¬ 
ropolitan, St. Louis, and Virginia clubs were represented. The To¬ 
ledos resigned. It was voted that the eight clubs to constitute the 
association consist of Alleghany, Athletic, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Cin¬ 
cinnati, Eclipse, Metropolitan, and St. Louis. Messrs. McKnight and 



Chbistopher Von der Ahe, President of the St. Louis Base Ball Club. 

Wikoff Avere re-elected president and secretary. T. J. Mullane was 
suspended for a year and fined $1,000. John Kelley, J. G. Valentine, 
M. Walsh, and John Connelly were appointed umpires. In this year 
the American Association undertook to deprive the Metropolitans of 
their franchise and elect the Nationals of Washington in their place, 
on the ground that the club, controlled by the company which owned 
the New Yorks, was to be run in an inferior manner to the league 




56 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


club. The matter was taken to the courts, and, as a result, the fran¬ 
chise was restored to the Metropolitans. S. AT. Barkley was fined 
$100 and suspended for a year for duplicity and dishonorable conduct 
in having signed with the Pittsburg Club after having accepted ad¬ 
vance money from Baltimore. The St. Louis Club won the cham¬ 
pionship with, comparative ease in 1885, the record being 79 victories, 
33 defeats, to 63 victories, 49 defeats, for Cincinnati; 56 victories, 55 
defeats, for Pittsburg; 55-57 for the Athletics; 53-59 for Brooklyn, 
with the Metropolitans and Louisvilles far behind. 

The victorious team embraced: Bushong, Sullivan, c.; Foutz, 
Caruthers, McGinnis, p.; Comiskey, Barkley, Latham, basemen; 
Gleason, ss.; O’Neill, ATelch, Nicol, fielders. 

The Athletic, Alleghany, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Louis¬ 
ville, and St. Louisville clubs were represented at the annual meeting 
at the Continental Hotel, Dec. 8, 1885. Mr. McKnight was elected to 
the new consolidated office of president, secretary, and treasurer, at a 
salary of $1,800. On Dec. 28 the series of games was increased in 
numbers to 20. John Kelly, B. F. Young, D. J. Mack, and AT. J. 
Carlin were announced as umpires. The season of 1886 was in every 
respect the most prosperous ever held by the association. The St. 
Louis, as in the preceding year, had little difficulty in winning the 
championship. They won 93 games and lost 46, to 80-57 for Pitts¬ 
burg, 77-61 for Brooklyn, 66-70 for Louisville, 65-73 for Cincinnati, 
63-73 for Athletic, Metropolitan and Baltimore again bringing up the 
rear. 

The annual meeting in 1886 was held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
New York, with the Athletic, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Cincinnati, 
Cleveland, Louisville, Metropolitan, and St. Louis clubs represented, 
Cleveland being the new member admitted by a full vote of the clubs. 
ATheeler C. ATykoff was elected president, secretary, and treasurer. 
E. A. Cuthbert, Alonzo Knight, and A. Bauer were elected umpires. 
The St. Louis were far too strong in this season for the other clubs of 
the association, and this fact robbed the contest of much of its 
interest. The winners won 95 games and lost 40, to 81-54 for Cincin¬ 
nati, 77-58 for Baltimore, 76-60 for Louisville, the Athletic, Brooklyn, 
Metropolitan, and Cleveland clubs finishing in that order. The chain- 




HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


57 




pionship team consisted of Bushong, Boyle, c.; Caruthers, Hudson, 
Foutz, King, Knouff, p.; Comiskey, Robinson, Latham, basemen; 
Gleason, ss.; O’Neill, Welch, and one of the batteries, fielders. 

The sixth annual meeting of the association occurred at Cincinnati, 
Dec. 8, 9, 1887. The Brooklyn, Athletic, St. Louis, and Baltimore 
clubs were represented. Mr. Wykoff was elected president and sec¬ 
retary. The admission at games was raised to 50 cents. Messrs. 



Walter Latham, the Renowned Base Runner. 


Ferguson, McQuade, Gaffney, and Doescher were secured as umpires. 
The Brooklyn Club having purchased the franchise of the Metropoli¬ 
tans, the Kansas Citys were elected as the eighth club at a subsequent 
meeting. 

The Eastern Championship Association was formed April 11, 1881 > 
by the Metropolitan, New York, and Quickstep clubs of New York, 
Atlantic of Brooklyn, Athletic of Philadelphia, and National of Wash¬ 
ington. The Nationals soon went under, and were replaced by a club 




58 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


from Albany. The Metropolitans, Athletics, and Atlantics alone com¬ 
pleted the schedule, the former winning with 32 victories, 13 defeats. 
The winners included Daly, Poorman, p.; Hayes, Dorgan, c.; Ester- 
brook, Brady, Muldoon, basemen; Say, ss.; Kennedy, Clinton, Rose- 
man, fielders. 

In 1882 the Interstate Association was formed at Reading, Pa. The 
Brooklyns won the first championship, on which they, with the Actives 
of Reading, Anthracites of Pottsville, Harrisburgs in Pennsylvania, 
Merritt of Camden, Trenton of Trenton, N. J., and Quicksteps of 
Wilmington, Del., competed. Brooklyn won with Kimber, Terry, p.; 
Farrow, Corcoran, c.; Householder, Greenwood, Fennelly, basemen; 
Geer, ss.; Smith, Walker, Doyle, fielders. In 1884, the Eastern 
League was formed, and the Actives of Reading, Allentown, Harris¬ 
burg, Ironsides, Monumental, Trenton, Virginia, Wilmington, and 
York clubs competed. Wilmington won, winning44 out of 55 games 
In 1885, the Washington, Richmond, Trenton, Waterbury, Newark, 
Norfolk, Lancaster, Bridgeport, Jersey City, and Atlantic City clubs 
competed. Washington won with 70 victories, 25 defeats, to G7 vic¬ 
tories, 26 defeats, for Richmond. Newark won the championship in 
1886 from Waterbury, Jersey City, Hartford, Bridgeport, Providence, 
Meriden, and Long Island. 

The International league closed its first season in 1886, with Utica 
first, then Rochester, Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo, Syracuse, Bingham¬ 
ton, Oswego. In 1887, Toronto won, then Buffalo, Syracuse, Newark, 
Hamilton, Jersey City, Rochester, Wilkesbarre, and Scranton. 

In 1885, the New England championship was won by Lawrence, 
the other contestants being Brockton, Haverhill, Portland, and New- 
buryport. In 1886, Portland won, Haverhill, Lynn, Brockton, Law¬ 
rence, and Boston finishing in that order. 

In 1887,1 owell won, followed by Portland, Haverhill, Manchester, 
Salem, and Lynn. 

Among the other professional leagues that have participated in the 
campaigns of seasons past are the Southern and Western, and numer¬ 
ous State leagues. Over 3,000 championship contests were played by 
the clubs of the professional leagues in 1887. 

The contests between the league and association clubs have been 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL 


59 


regarded with interest by the admirers of the respective bodies. In 
1882, the league clubs won 25 out of 27 games; in 1883, 64 out of 86; 
in 1884, 58 out of 86, 2 being drawn; in 1885, 28 out of 62, with 5 
drawn games; in 1886, 27 out of 64, with 3 drawn; in 1887, 47 out of 
80, with 1 drawn game; making a total of five seasons of 249 victories 
for the league to 148 for the association. Most all of these games, it 
will be remembered, were played on association diamonds. 


J. 


W. Glasscock, the Great Shortstop. 


In 1884, the Providence, league champions, and the Metropolitans, 
American Association champions, played atHew York, and Providence 
won three straight games. In 1885, Chicago and St. Louis, respective 
champions of their associations, played a series of games, each club 
winning three games, with one drawn. In 1886, St. Louis won four 
games out of six, and in 1887, Detroit won 10 out of 15 games from 
St. Louis. Total league champion club victories, 18; American, 12. 




60 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


The Intercollegiate championship was won in 1880 by Princeton; 
1881,1882, 1883,1884,1886, and 1887, by Yale; in 1885, by Harvard. 

The salaries of the Boston nine for 1871 and 1872 were less in each 
year than were paid by the same club for the release and salary 
of one player, M. J. Kelly, in 1887. The gate receipts in 1873 were 
$13,990, and in 1874, $19,005, against over $100,000 net receipts in 
1887. There was a balance of $767.93 in the treasury in 1873, and 
of $833.13 in 1874. The salaries of the players in 1873 were as fol¬ 
lows: Spalding, $1,800; White,$1,500; O’Rourke,$800; Shafer, $1,200; 
Leonard, $1,400; Harry Wright, $1,800; Bird sail, $1,000; Sweazy, $800; 
Manning, $500. In 1S81, Providence paid Ward, $1,700; Gross, $1,500; 
Start, $1,300; Farrell, $1,400; Denny, $900; McClellan, $1,100; Houck, 
$700; Hines, $1,400; Baker, $900; Matthews, $1,000; Gilligan, $875. 

Meyerle, Athletic, led the batting in 1871; Force, Troy and Balti¬ 
more in 1872; Barnes, Boston, in 1873; McMullen, Athletic, in 1874; 
Anson, Chicago, 1875; Barnes, Chicago, 1876; White, Boston, 1877; 
Dalrymple, Milwaukee, 1878; Anson, Chicago, 1879; Gore, Chicago, 
1880; Anson, Chicago, 1881; Brouthers, Buffalo, 1882; Brouthers, 
Buffalo, 1883; O’Rourke, Buffalo, 1884; Connor, New York, 1885; 
Kelly, Chicago, 1886; Anson, Chicago, 1887. American Association 
— Browning, 1882; Browning, 1883; Esterbrook, 1884; Browning, 
1885; Orr, 1886; O’Neill, 1887. 

Remarkable games, by reason of their length and closeness, have 
been numerous, and of these may be mentioned the 5-5,15-inning 
game at Louisville, Ky., July 8, 1876; the 8-5, 16-inning game 
between the same clubs, July 10 following, when the Mutuals won. 
May 11,1877, on the Boston grounds, the Harvard University and 
Manchester, N. H., clubs played 24 innings without a run being scored 
on either side, the Harvard battery being the famous Ernst and Tyng, 
and for Manchester Snigg and Carl. Coggswell, of Manchester, put 
out 31 men on first base without an error, while Catcher Tyng put out 
36 men behind the bat. On May 1 of the same year, the St. Louis and 
Stars of Syracuse played 15 innings without a run being scored on 
»ither side. The pitchers were Nichols and McCormick. July 9, at 
Columbus, 0.,the Buckeye and Tecumseh clubs played 18 innings, 
with the score one run each. June 29,1878, at Philadelphia, the 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


61 



Yeager nine of Philadelphia defeated the Girard College nine, 10-7, 
in 21 innings. O’Brien and Milligan, afterward with the Athletics, 
caught for the two teams. Aug. 7, 1882, Radbourn, of Providence, 
made a home run in the eighteenth inning, the only one in the match 
with Providence at Detroit. June 26, 1881, at Louisville, Ky., the 
Eclipse Club of that city played a tie game with the Akron, O., Club, 


the score being 2-2. Aug. 22, 1882, the Actives of Reading, Pa., 
and the Merritts of Camden, 17. J., played 19 innings, the score 
being a draw, 3-3. June 4,1880, the Providence-Chicago games stood 
1-1,16 innings. June 24,1882, Metropolitan and Philadelphia clubs 
scored 2 runs each in 15 innings. June 16, 1884, the Boston and 
Providence game stood 1-1, and in that season Providence beat 
Boston, 4-3, 15 innings. 

Mr. Chadwick is the oldest writer on the national game now in har¬ 
ness. For the past thirty years he has been on the editorial staff of 


Henry Chadwick, the Father of Base Ball. 


6 2 


HISTORY OF BASE BALL. 


the New York Clipper, and/two years ago he closed a thirty years 
career as a writer on base ball and cricket on the New York dailies, 
to take a position on the editorial staff: of the Outing Magazine , the 
night work on the dailies being too arduous for a man of his age, he 
now being past sixty-three. For the past twenty years he has been 
on the editorial staff of the Brooklyn Eagle; this and the Clipper work 
occupying most of his time. 

It is rare that he is tempted to leave his old stamping grounds in 
Brooklyn, of which city he has been a continuous resident for fifty 
years, and, though English in birth, he is thoroughly American in his 
views and in feeling. The title given him of u the father of the game ” 
arose from the fact that, as chairman of the committee on rules of the 
old national association, in the sixties, he originated the most promi¬ 
nent of the amendments to the playing rules of the game, which helped 
to build up the lasting structure of our national game. It was he who 
organized the first professional association, dividing the fraternity into 
two classes, he having been joined in this last work by the veteran 
president of the league. 


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PROF. GHAS. LUDWIG VON SEEGER, 

Professor of Medicine at the Boy al University; Knight 
of the Boyal Austrian Order of the Iron Crown; Knight 
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dations it has received in all parts of the world. It 
contains essence of Beef, Coca, Quinine, Iron and 
Calisaya, which are dissolved in pure genuine Spanish 
Imperial Crown Sherry.” 

Invaluable to all who are Run Down, Nervous, 
Dyspeptic, Bilious, Malarious or afflicted with weak 
kidneys. 


BEWARE OF IMITATIONS. 

H. I Dept, 38 mURRRY STREET. 




Battle of Bunker Hill. 

NEW CYCLORAMA, 

401 TREMONT STREET, 

BOSTON. 


Open 9 A. M. to 10 P. M. 


LECTURES EVERY HOUR. 


PEABODY & WHITNEY, 

HEADQUARTERS FOR 



IiWN TENNIS, CRICKET, CROQUET, 


And all Out-Door Games. 


FULL LINE 

Spalding’s 

BASEBALLS 


BATS, 


Etc. 



The largest assortment of Tennis Supplies in Boston. We string all our 
best racquets with English Gut, which is superior to any gut used. We warrant 
every one of these. Our Sporting Goods Catalogue sent upon application. 


PEABODY & WHITNEY, 


Importers and Manufacturers, 

90 and 92 Washington Street, Boston, 





People of refined taste desiring Specially Fine 
Cigarettes should use our 


SATIN, FOUR IN HAND, AND ATHLETIC, 


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FROM THE 


Best Virginia and Turkish Leaf. 



Peerless Tobacco Works. 


Fourteen First Prize Medals. Established 1846. 


Wm. S. KIMBALL & GO. 


ROCHESTER - - NEW YORK. 









A History in Miniature. 


In the year 1846 a paper was started in Bos¬ 
ton which met with fair success. It had its 
vicissitudes, and at times was obliged to strug¬ 
gle hard on its way to fame and fortune. Time 
went on and the paper improved. In the years 
1860 to 1865 it was in the lead in New England. 
From (hat day to this it has held that position. 
In 1869 it took a fresh start, and with new life 
it almost galloped into national reputation, and 
shortly afterward a Sunday edition was put forth, 
which grew with most remarkable rapidity into 
one of the finest newspapers of the world. Few 
people of the East, especially those who love 
base ball and know the value of its reports 
thereon, need be told that the paper alluded to 
is the Boston Herald, and it has a circulation of 
over 120,000 per day. The subscription price, 
including the Sunday issue, is only $8.00 per 
year, and all communications should be ad¬ 
dressed to the proprietors and publishers, R. 
M. Pulsifer & Co., Herald Building, Boston. 



TX3:E3 ^ 7 ^ 

PLIMPTON SOFA BED. 


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BEST IN USE. 

Combining a Perfect Parlor Sofa with an equal¬ 
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with no hard or uneven place. Please Examine. 

ALSO, OUR EXTENSIVE LINE OF 

RELIABLE FI1K1TURE, CARPETS, RANGES, Elc. 

PRICES ALWAYS THE LOWEST. 

CASH, OR EASY PARTIAL PAYMENTS, 




H. R. PLIMPTON & CO. 

RELIABLE HOUSE FURNISHERS, 

1075-1079 Washington Street, 

BOSTON, MASS. 











THE FAMOUS CUSTOM-MADE 


PL10I1 ROCK % PBS 


Full Suits and Overcoats at proportionate prices. 

You can order a pair of the Famous 
Plymouth Rock $3 Pants, cut to order, 
and after you get them home if you are 


not satisfied with them in every way, 
you can bring them back and obtain 
your money. Suits and overcoats same way. Just think 
of a custom-made suit cut to your own order for $13.25! 
Such things were never before heard of in this city. You 
can select your own cloth “in the piece” at our sales¬ 
rooms. 




PLYMOUTH ROCK PANTS CO. 

18 SUMMER STREET - - BOSTON. 

Send 6 cents for package, 20 samples, and self-measurement blanks. 














WHEN HURT 

Playing Base Ball. 


IT NEVER FAILS! 

( r oraElldi5ea5e5°f fre 5 klN d^e 




APPLY 


Hop 


Ointments*; 

C°U> CRACKS' 

It is the hest healer in this world. "£VER 
It will dry up and cure a cut, bruise ill 
or sore in 48 hours. Has no equal. P°^' nt 3 
Once try it, then judge. 



H\ DRUGGISTJ 

or senl by rrjiil 
receipt 0 ! pnce 
PILL Ming®. 

NEW ipnDoN 
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.SKIN ' Delightfully Perfumed. Easily Used 


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Cleanse and Purify your Skin and Blood. There are no remedies known 
to medical science that will accomplish this as speedily and satisfactorily as Hop Ointment, 
Little Hop Pills, and Hop Sarsaparilla Resolvent. They cure when other remedies fail. 
They will cleanse and eradicate all scaly, pimply Skin and Blood impurities, and renovate 
the whole system. They are superior to all. Hop Ointment for the Skin, 25 cents, 50 cents, 
and $1 00. Little Hop Pills for the Liver, 25 cents. Hop Sarsaparilla Resolvent for the 
Blood, $1.00. Sold by druggists, or all three sent, express paid, on receipt of $1.50. Pills and 
Ointment by mail in plain wrapper. Prepared by the Hop Pill Mfg. Co., New London, Conn. 
IF YOU WILL mail us four cents in stamps, with your P. O. address, we will send you sam¬ 
ples of the Pills and Ointment for trial, together with book of cures and testimonials. 



W. B. FOWLE 


Auburndale, Mass. 












THE NEW YORK CLIPPER, 

ESTABLISHED 1853. 

The Standard Authority 






Athletic and Aqaatic Matters, Crichet, 
Billiards, Chess, Chechers, 
the Trurf, JEtc. 

— ALSO — 

THE OLDEST THEATRICAL NEWSPAPER IN AMERICA. 


The latest Amusement News Weekly. 


Price, Single Copies, 10 cts. Subscription, $4.00 a Pear. 

ORDER THROUGH YOUR NEWSDEALER. 

THE FRANK QUEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, Limited, 


88 and 90 Centre St. (Clipper Bldg.), N. Y. City. 








A RICH MAN 


Is a mighty comfortable fellow, and unless he has dyspepsia bad, or 
has a lonesome lung, or is club-footed in both feet, or can’t whistle, 
he generally takes life pretty blooming easy. He can have a seat on 
the grand stand at the ball game, in the shade, — if the sun’s right; 
sail the billowy billow in his yacht, — if he isn’t sea-sick; pat the turf 
with the hoofs of his thoroughbred steed, — if he can stick on, and 
enjoy life immensely. Besides, he can do a heap of good. We all 
should like to have this condition of things for our own, — that’s 
natural, of course. Now there are many and various ways of be¬ 
coming wealthy in this good old land of ours. Dr. Franklin says that 
11 the road to wealth is as plain as the road to mill.” This is true, 
no doubt, but the deuce of it is to find the guidepost that will point 
us to the right road. It’s easy enough to follow the road after we 
have found it and started right. Probably the best roads leading to 
wealth — certainly the easiest to travel — are those pointed out by 
the guideposts in the form of letters sent to the editor of the Boston 
Herald , in response to requests sent to successful men who have 
travelled them and reached the goal. These letters are from the pens 
of Hon. Benj. F. Butler, Hon. P. T. Barnum, Hon. Oliver Ames, 
Hon. Chas. A. Pillsbury (the flour king of Minneapolis), Hon. Henry 
II. Faxon, Russell Sage, Erastus Wiman, and Asa P. Potter (presi¬ 
dent of the Maverick National Bank of Boston). They excited much 
interest when published in the Herald, and were largely quoted and 
commented upon by the public press. With a burning desire to help 
our poor fellow-man (and ourselves) along the road to wealth, we have 
published these letters in book form, and will send them by mail to 
any one sending us 25 cents. The book contains forty-five pages of 
good sound advice, and is illustrated with the likenesses of the 
writers of the letters. Its title is “ How to Get Rich.” Send for it 
by all means. J. F. Spofford & Co., Publishers, No. 6 Herald 
Building, Boston, Mass. 


BICELOM 5..C0. 

Hatters Furriers. 

CORRECT SHAPES AND NEWEST COLORS. 



HEATH'S LONDON HATS, 


FcLTLcy F larvae! Caps artel Blazers y 

CANES # 0 UMBRELLAS. 


FURS STORED and INSURED during the summer against FIRE and MOTH. 



WASHINGTON STREET 



BOSTON 










TRIBUNE BOOK OF OPEN-AIR SPORTS. 


This is the only book ever written covering the whole field of the open-air amusements 
of our American boys, men and women. It is absolutely without a rival. It is a large 
octavo of 500 pages, with 150 illustrations, tinted paper and handsome cloth covers. It is 
written, under the supervision of The New York Tribune , by experts, including some very 
well-known men. It gives the records of great achievement in every sport; the rules for 
enjoying each open-air game and exercise with perfect pleasure, safety and success; the 
history of base ball and the League games; rules for procedure in case of drowning, snake 
bites and other accidents, and instructions how to avoid accident, etc., etc. The contents 
are: — 

1. “Why Tve want to be strong,” by 
William Blaikie, lecturer and athlete. 

2. “ Archery, Old and New,” by Maurice 
Thompson, the champion archer and writer. 

3. “ Horsemanship,” by Henry Hall, with 
contributions by Capt. Augur, the Cavalry 
Instructor at West Point Military Academy; 
by Frank Menzdorf, a prominent riding 
master in New York City; and Edgar B. 

Bronson, cattle ranchman of Texas. 

4. “ Games of Ball,” by The Tribune's 
reporters, an elaborate and complete article. 

5. “ Fishing,” by Yale Beach, with a full 
description of every variety of American 
game fish. 

6. “ Trapping,” by Yale Beach. 

7. “Amateur Photography,” by James 
Hall, an amateur. 

8. “ Yachting,” by Henry Hall, with con¬ 
tributions by Thomas Clapham and William 
Kirby, yacht builders, and by Lieut. Rhodes 
of the U. S. Navy. 

PRICE, $1.0 

The Tribune means that this book shall become the standard American book for en¬ 
rolling the names of champions in all laudable and healthful sports, and the authority to 
settle all disputes. 


9. “ Swimming,” prepared under the di¬ 
rection of Gus Sundstrom, American long 
distance swimmer. 

10. “ Rowing, Boat-building and Canoe¬ 
ing,” by Tribune reporters. 

11. “ Gymnastics,” by Prof. George 
Goldie, Director of Athletics of the New 
York Athletic Club, with assistance by Tri¬ 
bune reporters. 

12. “ Camping Out,” by Yale Beach. 

13. “ Shot-gun and Rifle.” with contribu¬ 
tions by Charles B. Reynolds, of Forest and 
Stream , and Gen. George W. Wingate, in¬ 
cluding a full description of all varieties of 
American game. 

14. “Croquet,” by W. S. Rossiter. 

15. “ Bicycling,” by George D. Baird. 

16. “ Skating, Tobogganing and Ice 
Yachting,” by W. S. Rossiter. 

17. “ Useful Facts ” of great value. 


PER COPY. 


WHAT PEOPLE SAY OF THE BOOK. 


From J. A Greene, Canaan, N. H. — My¬ 
self and boys built a New Jersey catboat by 
your plans. She was twenty-four feet long, 
ten feet beam, with a cabin twelve feet by 
ten, five and one half feet high. Centreboard 
nine feet long, four and one half feet wide. 
Mast thirty feet long; boom, twenty-six 
feet; gaff, fourteen feet; sail hoist, twenty- 
two feet. I carried the boat to Portsmouth, 
and with my whole family I went to sea with 
her. Was caught out in a gale. She proved 
a most [excellent sea boat and a good sailer. 
She pointed close to the wind without much 
drift or leeway. Old fishermen and ’long¬ 
shoremen went out with me in her, and they 
pronounced her “ splendid.” It was one of 
the best outings any one could have had. 
My wife and boys came home recovered in 
health. We never met with any accident 
whatever in our month’s cruising. 

From J. F. Arundell, Atlantic Oyster Com¬ 
pany, New York City.—I have derived a 
great deal of valuable information from the 
contents of your “ Book of Sports,” and can¬ 
not think of any way that it could be im¬ 
proved. 


From R. E. Adams, Whitehall, N. Y.— 
" The Tribune Book of Sports ” is a capital 
thing. My son and daughter enjoy it very 
much. They both want to swim, row, hunt, 
fish, and ride horseback. Mabel bought a 
saddle last summer, and was her own in¬ 
structor in horseback riding, using your 
book for reference. If you could see her 
ride, you would see that the Book of Sports 
is a good teacher of youth. 

From C. R. R., Librarian, Ames Free Li¬ 
brary, North Easton, Mass. — The proof of a 
pudding is the eating. Your Book of Sports 
is in circulation all of the time. It is a capi¬ 
tal book. 

From Gus Sundstrom, of the New York 
Athletic Club, champion long-distance swim¬ 
mer of the world.—I like your book all 
through, and to all my friends in the club 
and elsewhere I shall say it is the best book 
on sports that I have ever seen. As for my¬ 
self, I do not know anything except swim¬ 
ming. Your article on that subject is exactly 
right. 

From E. J. Cross, Cambria, Wis. — The 
chapter on the “ Gun and Rifle ” is good. 





a! 

•; i 
a 


HORACE PARTRIDGE & CO. 

BOSTON, 

MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS OF 

FINE ATHLETIC GOODS 



EADqu^rtERS 


FOR 


BASE BALL SUPPLIES 



Complete lines of Gymnasium, Eacros^e, Foot Ball, Cricket and Polo 

Goods. 

Call or send for Illustrated Catalogue . 

Horace Partridge & Co., 497 and 499 Washington St. 



























































































































-AND — 


ALL PAINS, Internal or External, Promptly Cured. 

-by- 

BAKER’S GREAT AMERICAN SPECIFIC. 

Trade Mark, the American Flag wrapped around the bottle. 

ALL DRUCCISTS, 50 CENTS. 

DOOLITTLE & SMITH, 

Selling Agents , 

24 and 26 Tremont St., Boston, Mass 



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If you have Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Bil¬ 
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DYSPEPSIA KILLERS. 

are true to their name. Used by thousands 
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Mailed to any address on receipt of 50 cents for a large box, or 25 cents for a trial box, by 


DOOLITTLE & SMITH, 

24 and 26 Tremont Street . Boston . 

SOLD BY DRUGGISTS, 












VICTOR 


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More Novel Devices than any others, but none 
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Years of use have but served to emphasize their 
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BOSTON. 








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IN GREAT DEMAN] 

k We offer it as the 

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Boys’ bicycles 


WM. READ & SONS, 107 Wash! ton Street - - ■ - BOSTON, 


K49 











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